TMNT with Rae - Book 1

Cassandra smiled and nodded her head, she flipped the Star card so that it was no longer showing, it was easier to keep track that way of what she read and what she hadn't. She pointed at the next one, which was a little boy with brown hair, holding a stick over his head, looking very determined. On the edges of the card there was flames. "The Page of Wands." Cassandra said, "This card is talking about your possessions, about your money and material status. Considering that the Wands are a suit that talks of creativity and will, it's no surprise that you try to manage your money with fondness and with likeability. You don't spend abundantly and you don't collect with greed either. You spend the money and gather materials that you will use and that you like to have in your home. You do have a tendency to spend a little impulsively." She flipped the card over.

She went to the next, "King of Cups is talking about siblings and we all know that Hawk is a cold-hearted man. He's crafty and he's hot-tempered, not one someone should mess around with. And you learned that the hard way that he's cold-hearted and ruthless. He revolves around scandals and he's not afraid to make things worse for anyone involved." She sighed deeply, "It tells us nothing new, but if we look at your center card, the Nine of Cups, we learn that he's a big obstacle to your happiness and freedom. As long as you let him have a hold of you spiritually, your happiness will be put on the backburner. So you have a choice, continue to let him control your life spiritually while he's not around you, or toss him aside like you should have done all those years ago."

"Okay...first card is pretty true. I can drop a few bucks on something I think is really nice quite easily," Tsuyoi blushed a bit. Then as she thought about the next card she sighed, "I agree with that more than I should. It's just...hard, since he's my twin and we grew up together practically inseparable. I don't know when he became so twisted, because it happened before...that." She bit her lip, "I...do want to be happy. I'll try and work on that."

"I understand," Cassandra gently told her. "And good, you deserve happiness." She flipped that card over and looked at the next two. The eight of wands, "This says that home life is pretty stale for you right now. Nothing is flowing and everything feels like there's no movement in the home. It either means that you're ready to move on, get out of the apartment, live your own life, or you're just in a rut. It feels too routine to you and you need something to spice it up. Doing something with one of us maybe."

She turned to the next card and immediately turned sly, "Soooo remember how you talking to me about Leo?" She tapped the card. It was of a young girl who was holding a coin, kneeling on the ground and looking quite pleased with herself. "This is telling me that he's your new adventure. I'd say ask him out the next time you see him, otherwise another girl is going to snatch him up quite quickly."

Andy frowned at the card, but didn't look too disappointed. They broke up for a reason and it was good that there was a romance in her future. He wondered about the Leo person though, and what kind of guy he was.

Leo was absolutely shocked when he heard that part of the cards. Tsuyoi had talked about him with Cass? Whoa...that was...that was insane. He was really flattered by it.

"Oooh, her face is red, bro," Mikey teased, nudging Leo's side. He got smacked for it and he had to bit his lip to stifle the cry so they wouldn't be spotted.

Tsuyoi's cheeks were almost as red as Cassandra's hair, "Ah-heh...well, I think those two cards go hand in hand, don't you think? I think life's too stale at home and here comes along an adventure of a lifetime. I think that's settled." She took a large swig of her drink, and after sipping on it during all this it was a little more than halfway gone and her cheeks stayed rosy even after she got over being flustered.

"If anything it's telling you to get married." The table roared with laughter at her words, Nicky and Haley nearly falling over each other while Tsuyoi spluttered at her. She just smiled innocently, "Shall I continue?"

At her nod, Cassandra pointed at the next card. It was of the High Priestess "You have an unhealthy habit of not listening to your intuition which causes problems sometimes. You also have some problems with balancing yourself out because you can't find harmony within yourself. Therefore there are days when you get sick because you're unstable spirituality. You should really listen to your gut more and not care about the rules and who says what. It'll save you a lot of heartache in the future."

She looked at the next card and sighed, "The Nine of Swords talks about the partnerships you have and it's based around the same thing, fear. You're suspicious of people, like we've established with your personality you have a lack of trust with people which isn't surprising. But you're not just suspicious of people, you're suspicious of a lot of things when it comes to them and you lack trust about whether or not they can carry you if you need to lean against them. The only thing that I can say is once more trust your instinct. Everyone helps everyone and when you do get a partnership going neither of you can take the entire thing on yourselves. This is a two way road."

"I understand. Trust and instinct is really big this year I see," Tsuyoi nodded. Last year had dealt with overcoming her guilt over what happened to Serenity. This year flowed pretty well with that. "I'm glad things are turning around. Alright, we're getting close to the end now. Give it to me baby," she rocked her body and gave Cass a challenging look which caused the others to laugh a little.

Cassandra rolled her eyes, and pointed at a girl who was floating in the sky. "Here's something fun, it seems like you're at the end of your dry spell. Your sex life cycle is at it's end and it's about to start with a new event that is going to happen. Probably something big. So we don't have to worry about you anymore for that."

Leo's eyes widened. Whoa. Just....wasn't that too soon for anything?!

She tapped her finger to her mouth and nodded her head as she looked at the devil, "Though your philosophy could change. It seems like it's keeping you from growing as a person and it's holding you back from being the person you want to be or need. The belief that you have either needs to update itself or needs to change completely if you want to live freely."

Tsuyoi shifted shyly at what Cass said about sex. How was sex with a turtle supposed to work, anyway? That was sure as hell going to be interesting. Clearing her throat, she nodded, "Three more...we can probably discuss my beliefs and philosophy's more in-depth later."

Raph was the one to give Leo a sly look, "Going to get it on with your Japanese lady soon I hear. You are one shell of a turtle, bro to catch that lady's eye."

Leo glared at Raph, "Like I didn't notice the way you looked at Cass when she danced. If anything you'd get it on before we do."

Cassandra flipped her hair and decided to the three cards in one hit. "Three of Wands," she said, "is talking about that there's a delay in direction that you want to go in. Considering everything that we just talked about, there's no surprises."

She turned to the next card, which was of a little girl with a book in her lap, holding a coin in her hand happily. "The Page of Pentacles on the other hand says that you have fresh ideas for your future. Which is also true regarding of everything that we've talked about.

Last and not least, she touched the last card which was of a pretty angel playing a trumpet in a graveyard, "Your mistake is to postpone your decision about what you want to do with your future and how you want to take your path. You must make a decision and move forward with it in confidence. If you postpone it, you'll be in worse shape than you are now and you've made a lot of progress."

She leaned back and deeply took a breath in and out, "So that's your reading and what you need to work on this year. I got a feeling that I'm going to be doing this kind of reading again real soon." She gathered the cards. "What did you think, Tsu-chan? Everything hit on the mark?"

"I thought it was scarily accurate." Haley shuddered. "You always have that way with your cards. Are you sure you don't-"

"It'd be cheating," She shrugged. "No the cards says it all, I just translate them."

"Good reading, Sis." Sam complimented. "Are you feeling drained?"

"A bit, but it wasn't extensive, so I'm not to bad." Cass smiled. "Thanks for worrying about me."

"I gotta talk to the woman first. Who knows, she might hate my guts," Raph snickered, "You at least know Tsuyoi likes you now."

"Thanks for giving me one," Tsuyoi nodded, and she finished the last bit of her drink, "The night's still young. I'm going to go talk to Candy and see what else he's got. I am going to dance so hard tonight I won't be able to walk tomorrow." She looked at Andy and gave him a grin, "Will you dance with me if I find a good song? Nicky, you too!"

"Party central." Cassandra laughed as she gathered her cards, Andy already dragging her towards where Candy was to discuss what songs there were for them to dance to. "It's good to see her so laid back for a birthday this solemn."

"I know right?!" Haley clapped her hands cheerifully. "I wonder if it's becuase of Leo."

"She's really attached to him," Cassandra said, looking at her deck, not noticing Nicky and Haley's look exchange. "I feel bad for her about that."

"Huh?!"

"Nothing. I shouldn't projecting my terrible thoughts on a happy occassion." Cassandra grinned as she stood up. "I'm going to go wrestle with the kids."

"Again, are you going to be there all night?!" Haley demanded, but Cassandra already waved her hand. She huffed and looked to see that Sam and Matt were in their own little corner, whispering amongest themselves and Sam was rubbing Matt's back while she leaned against him. She sighed again, "Then again she doesn't know that we have company."

"Let's not tell her that she's being spied on." Nicky bit his lip. "I still don't understand why Tsuyoi decided that was a great idea."

"Because she's a Mrs. Know-it-all?" Haley shrugged. "Something along those lines of revenge I'm sure."

"Well, whatever those lines of revenge are, Tsuyoi might get her ass kicked for it." He raised his arms up high to stretch out his back. "Do you think it's a good idea? To alliance with the guys?"

"They're not bad people. They're just the same as us...only they have to be more hidden." Haley defended. "They'll be wonderful allies and friends. I'm sure once Cassie meets them and Ian they'll say the exact same thing."

"Then I'll take your word for it," Nicky sighed. "I'm just not looking forward to the question and answers."

"I don't think they are either," she bowed her head. "I can only imagine what they must have went through in order to look like the way they are. Must have been just as bad or worse...or maybe...hopefully...they were so much more luckier than we were."

Nicky could only nod his head. Candy must have found a song because the moment the notes played, he could identify it, "No surprises. Andy and Tsuyoi found a song to tango."

Haley could only face-palm in response.

()

It took some maneuvering but Donny managed to eventually park safely outside the Fireside hideout. Tsuyoi's hawk form, which had been guiding them, flew off into an open window up high. Raph smirked at how Leo watched her closely before he stoodup and opened the doors. Jumping out, the large red turtle helped his sensei get out of the Battleshell. "I wonder who's going to come out and greet us."

"I hope it's Haley!" Mikey chirped as he popped out of the shotgun side.

"Of course you would," Don rolled his dark brown eyes and slipped out of the driver's seat.

"Hey guys!" Haley bounded out of the 37 story hotel with a large grin on her face. She was wearing yoga pants and a sports bra, her skin gleaming with sweat. It was obvious that she had just gotten out of a workout or a training session. "Welcome to our humble abode. Ian and Cassandra are waiting for you guys inside. I think Tsuyoi is getting tea and coffee ready as well as whatever drinks you guys want. We have a bunch of sodas and juices since we have little ones running to and fro here. I'm glad that Tsuyoi didn't land you all in a ditch."

"Speak of the Devil and she shall appear!" Raph laughed when he saw it was indeed Haley that greeted them. He and Leo made sure Splinter was stable on his feet and watched as Mikey ran over to her.

Gathering Haley into his arms he grinned as he spun her around, "Heya! Oh my gosh your dancing was awesome on Saturday! Do you dance often? I'd love to dance with you sometime!"

"Calm down, Mikey! Breathe!" Don laughed a bit and smacked him on the back of the shell.

"Gomen, gomen," Mikey blushed and set Haley down.

"I love to dance," Haley beamed as she was set down. "It's one of my favorite ways to work out really, Cassandra sometimes does it but she's not a fan." She shrugged, "Pole dancing takes a lot more energy and muscle after all so she'd rather practice that." She gestured. "Come on in." She opened the door and held it for them to go through.

The lobby was...it was magnificent. It had tall, twisted rafters on the ceiling and two of the walls were black, pouring down water on the surface the bottom where there was black rocks. It almost looked like they were stars that were shimmering downwards. Down the hallway was different tables that had comfortable squishy chairs and a gorgeous lamp sitting on top of them. The tables had a blue light that seemed to shine underneath in order to make the tables glow gorgeously.

It really looked as if it was an expensive date-night type of lobby. Farther down from the tables were black leather couches that looked extremely squish and comfortable, surrounded by a dark red table coffee table. Just behind that was a restaurant/bar that was styled up to have a few dining tables that were long and circular in order to let people eat in private. It was more homey than it was styled.

Close to where the restaurant was and the comfortable couches were two elevators that faced each other. "Those two go up and land you on the west side. Down that direction," Haley pointed in the opposite way. "Are two elevators that will land you in the east. There's another set of elevators here in the middle of the hotel that takes you in between the floors." She turned to the boys. "If you'd like to remain out here where it's open, Tsuyoi'll have an easier time to bring out drinks. I can tell Ian and Cassandra you're down here and that way you don't have to travel up for so long."

"Where's Ian and Cass, then?" Raphael asked her, "Where would we have to go to meet them?"

"They're up at the loft, it's one of the higher floors." Haley said, apologetically.

Donny tapped his chin, "I'd like to sit in the out of the way restaurant."

"I want to go to the loft," Raph answered immediately.

"So do I!" Mikey beamed, "You can probably see your whole domain from up there! I wanna see!"

"Leo?" Don arched a brow, "You want to stay down here, don't you? That is two for two. Splinter-sensei, you can be the deciding factor."

Leo frowned and nodded his head, "Down here seems to be best. The restaurant is cozy enough or even the lobby."

Haley scratched her cheek. "If we had two Ian's this wouldn't be a problem."

Master Splinter was thoughtful, taking in both the pros and cons for both places before nodding his head. "We'll go to the loft. It's more isolated and less chances of being walked in on."

"Then up to the loft we go." Haley grinned, "The loft is easier to get to on this side of the building anyway. Elevator ride!!!" She cheered as she headed towards the elevators, knowing that they were following after her.

"How are the elevators still running when this place's been abandoned?" Leo questioned as the elevator swiftly came to their floor since no one was using it and clambered in. Shell, it was less cramped than the one they had been in a few years back.

"At first it was Electric that did all the dirty work the poor guy. At least until Ian managed to get into good graces and buy this off of the street. No one really knew what he intended to do with it, probably just restore it for historical purposes, which isn't /wrong/. We are restoring it. Just not for history. So Electric retired but the nickname still stuck," Haley responded as she pressed the the floor number and the doors shut on them.

They traveled in silence for only a moment until the elevators dinged and they got out onto the floor. Haley hummed as she turned from the elevator room to the small hallway and walked straight. It felt like a bit until they came across a door that too up 2 regular hotel doors. Instead of knocking, Haley came right in. "Guess who I brought with me?"

The loft was a large room with an L-shaped couch that was placed conveniently by the hotel's window. The room had a small kitchen, a desk and a work place, and a few bookcases. There was a man that lounged in the middle of the couch, sitting next to him a gorgeous redheaded woman. The man had a business suit on and was wearing a tie. His hair was long enough to pull into a small ponytail at the base of his head. When he stood, he was just as tall as the turtles, maybe a few centimeters shorter. "Welcome to Fireside, please...take a seat anywhere you wish. It's an honor to meet all of you." He bowed instead of shaking hands. The redhead didn't stand to greet them, but was eyeing them curiously.

Mikey bowed respectively before immediately dragging Haley over to sit with him by the window so he could look out, "Whoa! This amazing! I swear you can see most of downtown from here!"

"Well he's cheesing out," Raph laughed. He bowed to Ian and found a seat close to the redhead, looking her over. She didn't look as provocative as she did last night, but more professional. Still hot as hell, though.

Donatello spotted a personal coffee pot, but he remembered Tsu was going to bring them tea. Shrugging he found a random street in a deep black leather chair.

"Thank you for inviting us." Master Splinter bowed before taking a seat at the L shape couch, Leo sitting next to him. The redhead didn't wear a jacket like she did last night, but she wore a black pencil shirt and a red blouse. Her hair was in a low ponytail and she wore black pantyhose. She looked over at Raph sine he sat down close by. She tilted her head a little in thought, but decided not to ask questions.

"This is Cassandra, the Leader of the Informers. I hope you don't mind that I invited her." Ian said as he went back and sat down on the other side. "Tsuyoi should be here soon with the drinks. In the mean time," he gestured openly. "The boys were at Feiry Wave the other day, tell me...what did you think of us?"

"They were there?" Cassandra turned sharply to Ian and Haley covered her mouth her hand, trying hard not to start laughing. She turned to Haley. "You knew?"

"Sorry...Tsuyoi told me not to tell you." Haley said muffled through her fingers.

Raph snickered, "All four of us were, Splinter-sensei wasn't," he informed her.

"I thought you guys were totally awesome!" Mikey grinned brightly, baby blue eyes sparkling.

"I know one of my brothers certainly enjoyed your dancing," Don cooed at Cass.

"Oh did they?" Cassandra smiled warmly. "I'm glad. It's one of the few things I'm proud of." It was either the blue or the red that really enjoyed it. Probably the blue since she had danced with Tsuyoi and made as sexual as could be. "Though I am disappointed that I didn't know you guys were up there. I would have given you a better welcome than to stare off bored into space."

Tsuyoi was going to get it, Haley though to herself. She was sooo going to get lectured.

"Your card reading was what really caught me by surprise." Leo commented after a little while. "I heard the entire thing. You're well practiced with it, though how long have you been reading cards?"

"Before I dropped out of high school." Cassandra responded. "It's been a way to make money besides selling my art and doing other things. I would guess that you would be surprised by it. Tsuyoi doesn't let herself get caught by guy as often as she should. Especially one like you."

"She owns herself a shop on the side, when she's not at Fiery Wave," Tsuyoi piped up as she entered the room with a full tray, one coffee mug standing out among the tea cups. Slowly she made her way around, giving Donny his as he was actually closer, then Haley and Mikey, Ian, Splinter, Cass and Raph and finally Leo. She smiled at him, letting her fingers brush against his when she handed him the cup. Then she took her own and set the tray on Ian's desk out of the way, taking a seat next to the blue banded turtle.

Ian smiled warmly, "Now that everyone's present, I believe you have questions for us as we have questions for you. Since you are our guests, why don't you ask your questions first and we'll ask our own, that way it's a back and forth conversation and nothing is lost."

"That's fair," Raph agreed and watched as Mikey finally turned around and sat down on the couch.

Donatello sipped his coffee with a sigh of contentment, enjoying the cream that had been added to it for sweetness instead of sugar, "I'll go first, since I was the driver. Why did Tsuyoi have to guide us weaving around through the streets to get here? Do the other territories surround you or was there a danger we don't know about?"

"Mainly because of territory lines and boundaries we have made with the lesser known gangs. If you crossed them, we would be in trouble. Therefore it was safer to guide you around with Tsuyoi. I would have had Cassandra, but she's recognizable and you would get into trouble anyway. Not that she'd pick a fight, but no one approaches and Informer unless they have a reason. A last resort if you will."

"That makes sense," Mikey nodded, "We won't be allowed to roam freely until we ally with you, right? Will that have to be a meeting between the other gang leaders or something?"

"Not entirely sure that'd be a good idea...it's one thing with you guys because you're animals but I seriously doubt they are," Raph frowned.

"The only ones that I'd tell would be the Metal Spiders and the Lighting Force." Cassandra interjected. "That is if I have permission. The lesser gangs...they don't matter. You could say they're merely decoys until they prove themselves to us but that doesn't mean anything. They're not informed about what goes on in Fireside nor the people that we accept into our ranks no matter how far they get up the food chain. Now if they defeat the Metal Spiders or the Lighting Force, then we'll have to talk."

"What are the names of the leaders for those groups? That way we don't have to keep throwing out long Clan names," Raph asked.

"Kyle is the leader of the Metal Spiders. Jason is Lighting Force." Cassandra responded simply. "I will not give out last names though, that's private."

"No, no, of course not," Don shook his head, "Jason and Kyle are simple enough."

"How about..." Tsuyoi shifted in her seat, "You know we went through an experiment to become what we are. What's your story?"

"Splinter! You're great at story-telling!" Mikey grinned. They'd heard this story a million times, but it was always fun hearing their sensei talk about them so fondly.

"I have not had to tell this story since your friend Casey joined our group of friends," Splinter smiled a little, then twirled his the tip of his long grey mustache between his fingers, "Well...eighteen years ago, Mrs. Jones, who was Miss O'Neil at the time, was a young girl and we were her pets. Her father and Mr. Sacks were working on a project, Project Renaissance. She named my sons - Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael and Leonardo." He watched as they each bowed their heads in turn.

"We were injected with TCRI ooze, but it wasn't until April's father found out and destroyed the lab and everything in it, also dying. We made our way into the sewers with April's help, and from there I took care of them," Splinter stroked his chin, pausing and contemplating. It was time now, he supposed. The boys stared at him oddly, wondering why he had stopped.

Smiling, he nodded to himself, "At one point I noticed that we were across the street from a dojo, and watching from the sewer grates I watched the Master there, Master Yoshi, and learned basic martial arts that way. One night I ventured closer, planning on taking one of the practice weapons to return in the morning and he caught me. He was...surprisingly kind, and listened to my story. He became my friend, my Master. He agreed to privately teach me ninjutsu."

"But, what about the book?" Leo asked, frowning deeply.

Ian on the other hand was mulling over what Master Splinter said. TCRI. He glanced over at Cassandra and noticed that it seemed to have struck a chord within her as well. Haley nor Tsuyoi seemed to give any reaction to it.

"Do you by chance remember or know what the goal of your experiment was?" Ian asked carefully, intertwining his fingers and gripping tightly as he rested his wrists on his knee.

"Wait, wait," Raph held his hand up to Ian, "Leo's right, what about the book?!"

"The book...was a lie," Splinter admitted. His hand went up and rubbed his right ear, "Shredder came by one day and destroyed the dojo, also killing Master Yoshi's wife. I tried to help...and got injured. I didn't want you boys to know the truth and go after the Shredder. You are old enough now, though, to handle it and not rush blindly into battle."

Leo bowed his head in solemn respect. It was awful to hear, and it didn't surprise him. He felt his blood go cold at the thought, Master Yoshi had done so much for their Master Splinter. But he also knew that there wouldn't be a point to blind vengeance. That would come later.

Tsuyoi reached her hand up and touched Leo's shoulder and Spinter looked at Ian, "Gomen'nasai. The experiment was to make an antidote to a plague, which my sons were able to stop during the battle three years ago. If there was another motive, I am uncertain. Sacks was even unaware we were mutated until he discovered us and captured all of my sons except Raphael."

Three years ago. Cassandra leaned back, so then that was around the time when they broke free after the police stormed through. So, that theory was out the window already.

Ian was quiet. His mind going in a different direction when he turned to Cassandra and murmured something into her ear. She shook her head and murmured something back. The quiet discussion seemed tensed, especially the way Cassandra was no longer relaxed and was sitting up right.

"I have reason to suspect that we were experiments for the same thing, but not for a plague. For replacement parts. To see if animal organs could in fact live in a human's body and whether or not that would make us stronger or weaker," Ian sighed as he pinched his nose as he explained his thoughts.

“Are you...sure?” Don frowned. “I mean, we were never human like you all were. We just...happened to turn into humanoid creatures. I hate to imagine what horrible deformed nightmare we could’ve actually become.”

“Donny, have you been watching me play video games lately?” Mikey arched a brow.

“That’s not the point,” Don muttered.

"No," Ian agreed. "You're correct you had the opposite problem than we did. You were turtles first and usually animals were experimented on when it came down to vaccinations and testing to see how viruses affect the body. As much as that is your worst nightmare, we could have easily became you. Humans trapped in the form of humanoid animals. I imagine that it has something to do with the way Sacks ran his experiments. I wouldn't doubt if he manage to create a different kind of serum and that is what keeps us from becoming like you. He's inhumane when it comes down to what he wants."

"It would make sense," Cassandra pursed her lips together. "It's been debated among us about whether or not the experiment has been done before. It felt as if he had too much practice. But you just told us that he didn't have a clue that you were mutated until three years ago. Therefore that theory is out the window. But the idea stays the same, he had a different plan in mind for animal body parts within humans. After all..." she smiled and it looked as if it was a blood thirsty grin. "He certainly held no boundaries when it came to making sure we were strong and could endure anything."

"But this is all speculation with no proof." Ian sighed. "All I know is that the experiments are related somehow and in someway. Whether or not we were successes or failures doesn't matter. What matters is that we now know that we aren't alone and that you aren't alone either. Underneath this new light, I feel as if calling you allies is degrading. Friends and comrades and maybe family would suffice. Regardless if you accept that or not, I do extend my protection to you."

“I don’t have a problem being friends!” Mikey had a hard time not jumping up, instead taking a large sip of his tea and then swung his arm around Haley’s shoulders, “This is awesome!”

“I agree,” Raph nodded, “I certainly look forward to meeting the rest of Fireside, openly,” he added as he looked at Cass.

“That would make things so much easier. We can be more relaxed around each other if we’re already friends and not just acquaintances. We do have things in common we can build upon,” Tsuyoi looked at Leo happily.

"I agree," Leo said smiling as he looked at Tsuyoi before turning back to Ian. "But....I have to ask what about home?"

"You're welcome to stay here." Ian gestured openly. "We have more than enough rooms and since Master Splinter has been training in Ninjtusu, I believe that it'll be quite beneficial if all of us learned from his example. If that's something you're willing to do, Master Splinter."

“I will...consider it,” Splinter said slowly, “We are currently living well in our lair, but should any of my sons wish to come here for a few nights a week or anything I will give my consent now. Not that it will matter by the end of the month,” he chuckled softly.

“YEAH!” Mike cheered, “Things are just getting better and better, Haley!”

Ian nodded respectfully, "I understand completely. It's a shame, but usually it's Friday and Thrusday that this place is the busiest with people. Cassandra, my wife Lese, Tsuyoi, Haley, my son Nicky and his family are the only ones here. Though I don't know if you'll see my wife nor Nicky's any time today. Ally is sick and Lese's been tending to her until Andy gets a chance to come over today. Poor man hasn't had a chance to breathe since the birthday party. Even then I'm sure his mind was focused on work."

"Or other things," Cassnadra muttered to herself.

“Or other things?” Tsuyoi asked.

“So are you!” Tsuyoi laughed, “You’re telling me that Andrew’s taking a look through the fish in the pond? You must be joking!”

“Is there something we’re missing?” Raph asked noting Leo’s dumbfounded look.

“Andy and I broke up a while back, but it was mutual. We get along as friends, but didn’t really fit as a couple,” Tsuyoi admitted with a blush.

"But what she doesn't understand is that while they did break up, Andy's still protective of her." Cassandra shrugged as she intertwined her fingers together to help stretch out her arms and shoulders. "He's protective of all of us in honesty. Considering he was the one of the people who was a researcher. He's a doctor, so he was in charge of making sure all of our vitals were stable most of the time. Of course...due to exposure, he has a few things up with him as well. Not that I'm at liberty to say."

"Always professional, don't you get bored?" Haley asked as she grinned widely from ear to ear. Things were getting better and better. She would be able to hang out with Mikey as much as she wanted! She bounced a little in her seat.

"Do you have anymore questions for us?" Raph tilted his head.

"Either as a whole or individually," Don added.

"Do you like horror games?" Haley turned to Mikey quickly. "What's your favorite manga? What kind of video games do you like? RPG?"

"Definitely not professional," Tsuyoi laughed.

"Well, then, if three people live in Haley's apartment, who usually stays here at the hotel? Who has their own home?" Don chuckled and sipped his coffee.

"I play all sorts of games. Horror, RPG, Action, Shooter...not much of strategy, that's more Leo's thing, and Raph likes Racing," Mikey grinned down at her.

"Nix and Candy have their own home, so does Nicky and Ally, Trevor and Miranda. The rest stay here. Sam took over the loft on the other end of the Hotel and it's half a living space, half bar. It's where he practices his bar tending skills and encourages others to do the same just in case we're needed at the club," Tsuyoi answered Donny.

"I go in between depending on job situations." Cassandra added, "I usually stay at the apartment, but if there's a long night waiting for me, I flip a coin between staying here or staying at my shop."

"We should play against each other. I'm not a fan of racing, though I do enjoy the Fighter games. The shooter and first-person games are exciting. We had a friend here who used to love the RPG games, but she disappeared." Haley shrugged. "Tsuyoi likes puzzle games, which bores me."

"I like RPG, too!" Tsuyoi stuck her tongue out.

"I bet you're a lot more strategic and picky about your RPG, though," Raph snickered and grinned when Tsuyoi puffed out her cheeks.

"I'm the same way," Leo told Tsuyoi. "There's some RPGs that I don't really enjoy, but those that have a good story line and strategy based are my favorites."

"Awesome!" Tsu grinned, "We should talk about the games we like sometime."

Raph looked over at Cass who was half bored half amused, "Well, while we're at it, what kind of games do you play?"

Cassandra looked at him, "It's usually whatever Hota and Daniel want to play since their the oldest. HQ is a bit too young to play video games. It's mostly Mario Party. I don't really have time to actually sit down in front of a T.V to play anything."

"Boring," Haley mouthed behind her back.

"You do play board games though, Cass." Ian gently said. "More than the video games. You're excellent at card games. You beat me in Gin."

"I still can't beat you nor Andy in Poker though," she shrugged. "So it's fair."

"Card games? That sounds like fun," Raph smirked at her.

"I don't know what else we can talk about," Tsuyoi shifted, "I think anything else will just come up in conversation as we go about our day. What do the rest of you think?"

"We can show them around the Hotel and the Factory!" Haley bounced. "I mean we did a lot with it!"

Leo nodded, "What do you all think?" He asked his brothers. "A small tour couldn't hurt anything."

"Yay!" Haley beamed. "I knew you'd agree."

"Oh boy," Don smiled and finished his cup before standing, "Might as well. I don't see the harm in it. Do you guys have a lab?"

"Unfortunately none of us are scientists, so we only have an unused basement." Ian said as he stood up, following Donny's suit and waited for everyone else before heading towards the door. "I'm sure that if you wanted to, you could furnish it into a lab and make it your own. It's a big basement, and I'm sure it'll be more than enough space for you to use if you do experiments and such."

"You're a scientist or an engineer?" Cassandra turned to Donny curiously. "or are you a bit of both?"

"A mixture. I have a huge computer system set up at home but there's only so much I can do in an abandoned subway, you know?" Don smiled at Cass, "If I have permission, I could set up a basic laboratory by the end of the month. I'd definitely need help as I go to the local junkyards. Think Kyle would loan tools for me to use?"

"I can ask." Cassandra nodded.

"You may do whatever you wish. Just don't explode anything down there please." Ian chuckled as they walked into the hallway.

()

It was a few days later when they managed to make time to go to Cassandra's shop. Raphael didn't know what to expect when he walked in but it certainly wasn't the soft colors and dark wood. The shelves were full of figurines of dragons and fairies and other pretty knick-knacks. It was surprisingly eclectic without being overbearing. "Wow, this place is cool!"

"Thanks." Cassandra smiled warmly. The lighting in the shop was dim. Not too much that it'd hurt the eyes, but enough to make the colors pop to add an air of mystery to it. There was a wall filled with Book of Shadows and Oils and Tarot Card instructions. In the middle of the shop where the cash register was a glass case that was filled with wands, anthames, oils and really expensive figurines as well. "Way back there is where I do my readings." She pointed at the dark corner where there was a shelf filled with dried herbs and a rack of different colored pouches. Just a little bit to the right was a blue and silver beaded doorway. "And up there," She pointed at the stairs that had a velvet rope. "Is where I sleep sometimes."

"That's awesome, though this place is a bit dusty. Haven't been here in a while have you? Would you like help cleaning up at all?" Ralph looked at her with a small smile, "I am surprised I even fit through the door."

She looked around at her shop and shook her head, "I haven't been here for a good month or so." She said, getting up on top of the glass case, swinging her legs thoughtfully as she looked around. "I kind of miss it, but between working three jobs, I sometimes neglect one or the other. Lately I can't be doing that and this is the only place people know where to look when they want to find me." She leaned forward, putting her elbow on her knee as she rested her chin on her hand. "I could use some help, but...not right now." She looked at Raph. "Kind of surprised you're not asking the usual questions I get."

"There /are/ Christian Wiccans," Raph nodded and put the figurine back then moved on through the shelves, "Okay, where /are/ your futuristic paintings, if you're a Seer?" he asked with a grin, "Yeah, we do. Though that's why our birthday is on Halloween. We can go out and people say 'cool costume' though our biggest irritation is being called frogs."

Cassandra tossed her head back and laughed, "A frog?! Oh god, that's wonderful." She smiled. "Yes, you're right. There are Christian Wiccans, but there are times where it's best not to say that. I went through a religious warpath once on both sides who believed that it was against the law of nature for a Christian to be Wiccan and a Wiccan to be Christian." She hopped down from her perch and walked over to where the staircase was roped off and stepped over it. "Want to come up stairs or want to look around more?"

She didn't answer about the paintings, he noticed. Oh well. "Sure, if you aren't bothered by me going into your personal space, I'm not." Shrugging, he followed after her, "You know with this punk rock look you got going on, I think I would laugh my ass off if I found something girly."

Cassandra's cheeks blushed, but said nothing as she undid the clip for the stairs and wandered up, listening to his footsteps follow. She opened the door to the loft above her. It was a nice, large room that had two separate doors down a very small hallway just diagonally from the door that they were standing at. Her bed was pressed up against the wall of the loft to the second window. The bed was a twin size, small and comfortable. It had liliac colored sheets, a deep red comfortable and a purple butterfly quilt on top of it with papers and pens strewn all across it. Right ahead of them, right at the foot of the bed was a desk that had a T.V on the very top shelf of the desk. The main part had a laptop and books and notebooks all over the place. The kitchenette so far looked to be the only thing that was clean.

The walls were covered with photographs, of crosses and pentagrams all over the place. Hanging from the ceiling were a couple of colored pouches here and there. Not low enough to hit people in the face. It was at a decent height where she would have to get a stool to unhook them. Cassandra wandered to the small two door hallway and opened the door on the left. She rummaged through it for a moment before she started dragging canvases out.

The room was really nice and smelled faintly of lavender and rose. Whatever was in them would probably have to be replaced for freshness. The colors were just as nice as downstairs, though not as dark. "Ooh, so you /do/ have paintings!" Raph laughed and went over to her bed, hauling off the cover and shaking it out before resetting it with a practiced swoop and crawled over it, gasping before he sneezed hard, falling back.

Cassandra laughed, "I'll have to really do some cleaning and laundry. Thank god there's nothing in my fridge. Otherwise this really would be a problem." She started setting down the canvases. "My sketchbooks are in the hotel. I usually sketch first before I paint." The paintings were...well they were gorgeously detailed. Some of them were obviously paintings that she just felt like doing, but there were some that were captivating and realistic, as if it had happened. Did happened.

After righting himself and wiping his face, Raph looked at each painting with interest, "Gezz, look at that! You must take great care in these. They're so gorgeous." He propped one up on his crossed knees, looking at it closely. This person's eyes were intense amber like his. It seemed to be one of the last ones she painted as it had been on top and she'd used a larger canvas to do more detail especially on the eyes and hair that almost looked like Sam's only longer passed his shoulders.

"I don't know who that is." Cassandra said as she sat down next to him, careful to keep distance as she looked at the painting he chose. "I was having a bad night and something sparked me to paint it. Took me the entire night, day, and back to night again until I finished it. It was....a very peaceful picture I thought. I don't know why that was. I draw things much more peace-inspiring than a man, but..." She shrugged. "I just obey the paintbrush."

"It's amazing, Cass," Raph nodded, "I notice here that when you paint people, it's usually girls," he shifted a couple, "There are a few peaceful landscapes here, like you drew it while you stood there, but there's an air to it you'd only get from your imagination....this one here...I've been to this part of town, that building was just put in at the start of the year. This looks like an old painting by two years."

Cassandra nodded as she leaned back a little. "I still don't know how far into the future that is. I haven't really tried too hard to find the guy anyway. If he shows up, he shows up. If he doesn't, well..." She shrugged. "I'm really surprised that you're taking me being a Seer as well as you have. No freakouts, no chills, no "what can you see in five seconds"...." She eyed him a little. "Is it not that shocking?"

"I'm not surprised by much honestly," Raph shook his head, "I get out a lot more than any of my brothers...usually with Casey. We've seen a lot of bad shit. Murdurs, roberies, my own brother's blood being sucked out of them...I've heard just about everything, too. Which is why the Christian Wiccan thing was a quick connection. Mikey wouldn't be shocked either, more like "whoooaaa really?!" or something and /he/ might ask you what you can see in five seconds."

Shrugging he set the painting down and found another that had a woman in a black outfit and a hood, and she had the Foot logo on her right shoulder. She was perched on top of what looked like a huge steel air conditioner or generator, and at least one wakizashi, about ready to attack. The snow was blowing furiously around her and her blue eyes were like sun shining on water. "Do you...sometimes see things that other people might encounter, or just yourself?"

"Both." Cassandra looked at the picture, rubbing her lips together as she thought about it. "It's usually people I know that are going to encounter what I paint. I once drew....something horrifying and watched it happen two days later. I never thought I'd pick up a pen again, but when the Goddesses have something they want to show you...you best obey and obey quickly. The headaches aren't fun to deal with and of course, I have insomnia so they can torment me more now."

"I'll have to keep an eye out for this person. She looks like an assassin for the Foot and that's the last thing we need," Raph frowned, "So...what is the farthest you've ever seen, and in comparison the shortest? Do you only see the furture or can you see the past, too?"

Cassandra looked among her paintings before she picked one out. She was thoughtful for a moment and then handed it to him. A little girl with dark red hair that could easily be mistaken for brown was sitting in the middle of Central Park and was picking flowers while a little boy with jet black hair and looked from Asian decent was dumping the flowers onto the girls head. There was also a child in the background, with sandy blond hair, but it was hard to tell the gender of the child since their back was turned onto the group. "I have no idea how long into the future this is. The kids look like their about four or five." She paused and looked for the shortest. "My sketchbook has the ones that usually happen within the hour or a day." She said apologetically. "My paintings are usually something that won't happen for some time. Usually years or months."

Raph studied the children, though looked closer at the boy, "He looks like Tsuyoi, kinda. Don't you think so?" he asked, turning it back to her, "Only Tsu's hair is more reddish-brown. The black hair could be from daddy, but those eyes remind me of her."

"Yeah, I thought that might be the case." Cassandra shook her head. "I'm pretty sure the blond haired kid is Haley's. She hates having her picture taken, so I think he gets that from her."

"Blond hair would be from whoever their daddy is, then. The girl baffles me. I'd suggest Sam's daughter but he and Matt can't...ya know. Maybe yours?" He chuckled and slid off of the bed, "Do you have visions in your dreams or only while you're awake?"

"Both." Cassandra giggled. "Me? No. No...that wouldn't happen." She shook her head. "She might be Sam's. I mean, through surrogate mother."

"I doubt Sam and Matt would agree to that. It just...doesn't seem likely. They'd adopt rather than mess with the system to make a baby," Raph started helping her put the paintings back in her closet, "Maybe you'll get with whoever that handsome hunk is in the first painting," he winked her her teasingly.

"True," Cassandra laughed as she shut the closet door. "But I doubt it's me. It might be Trevor's and Miranda's. I mean, red-hair does go into the family even though he's the albino in our family. Poor kiddo. But you are right about Sam and Matt. Are you liking Fireside?"

"There's a lot of cool people in Fireside," Raph nodded. The last painting was put away and she turned around, and he thought she was going to leave so he reached out and placed his hand on her arm to get her attention, only to snap it back with a yelp as a shock went through his hand, causing the finger that had touched her first to go completely numb. He wasn't even able to sooth it in any way as Cassandra reacted violently.

Cassandra snapped her arm back away from him and tried to swing a kick at his stomach which he had narrowly dodged before she jumped backwards, staying in a fighting position and eying him wearily. She didn't say anything, her lips set in determination as she watched him leery and uncertain about what he was going to do next. Her arm felt weird, like something was traveling up and down like a lingering lighting bolt from Trevor's accidental discharge of energy.

"Fuck, that hurt!" Raph hissed and now put his finger in his mouth, his brow ridges furrowed and he held his other hand up, trying to stay in a non-threatening pose. Pulling his finger away he shook his hand, "I didn't mean to shock you there, Cass, though I don't think it hurt you as bad as it hurt me."

She slowly let down her stance, biting her lip but still keeping a weary look. "Right." She said slowly, hesitantly. Her whole body was still tensed up, ready to drop back into a fighting stance if need be. "It's okay." She furrowed her eyebrows as she touched her arm. "My entire arm's feeling numb, but that's okay. I'm not in pain, you're right. Are you okay?"

"It's just tingly right now but I'm good," Raph nodded, "I was in the process of asking you another question, but nevermind. I forgot it in all that fuss," he shrugged, "Shall we head out and go somewhere else? Maybe grab some grub?"

"Sure." Cassnadra smiled as she relaxed a little. "We can do that. What sounds good?"

~*~

"Haley! Be careful jumping around, you never know when you can run across something rusty!" Mikey called to the brunette across the way, "Have you been junkyard diving before?"

"A few times!" Haley laughed. "Though I go dumpster diving more. It's where I get some of my furniture when I can find something. Of course I clean it," She added hastily. "I never bring home anything too ragged or anything too unclean."

"Cheap and free." Sam agreed as he was nearer to Donny as he helped him try to find what he was looking for. "Pretty resourceful. I know Cassie's dumpster dived more than I care to imagine before she managed to open her shop and get a steady stream of costumers in."

"One man's trash is another man's treasure!" Donny laughed as he finally was able to reach the item he was after with Sam holding up the heavy board. "Aha!" He pulled back and examined it. The box wasn't in too bad a shape, it'd landed in a pretty good hole and wasn't crushed. Stuffing it into the bag on his back he put on his x-ray goggles again and started back over the mound.

"What are you planning to do with the lab, Donny?" Haley asked as she looked through the pile. "What exactly are we looking for? Electronics?"

"Electronics, metal parts like piping or sheets are preferred to plastic. TVs and computers, especially the old computers with the big monitors and towers. Laptops are fine but only if they're not too damaged," Donny hollered over, shifting through and grabbing a metal pole, "Metal can be bent and melded. Just be careful of rust."

"Electric would be good for this kind of job. He has a thing for sensing electronics." Sam chuckled as he continued to look through the junk pile. "Be careful of nails too, Haley." He shouted. "You should stick with Mikey since climbing's not your thing."

"You clumsy?" Mikey teased just as Haley slipped and he reached out, catching her hand, "Well that answers my question," he laughed.

Haley blushed, "Yeah I'm not the best at balance. I guess I do stick with you then. You probably know more about what Donny's looking for than Sam and I."

"You could ask Trevor to switch out with you, Sam," Donny offered, "He can keep tabs on his radio to see if anyone's on their way, right?"

"He's probably going to show up if someone sees us." Sam shrugged. "He patrols close by. I don't mind staying behind anyway. It's been a while since I've been outside."

"I'll see if next time if he wants to come out with me when I want to make the lab more detailed," Don smiled, "Right now we're mainly looking for building supplies, the rest is a bonus. If you think you got something let me know."

"Right-o, Donny-boy!" Mikey called and waved and he wrapped his arm around Haley's waist as he jumped over to another pile, grinning as she squealed and laughed.

Don looked up at Sam, "How is it to be out and about instead of cooped up in the Bar? I don't think I know your animal."

"I'm a Scropion. I'm the only one who has a small creature." Sam answered. "As for being out and about, it's wonderful. I mean, normally I'm out with Matt, but you know. Once you go hyper you can't go back, so...it's nice to be around calming people. She understands."

"You are way more relaxed out here than you were a few days ago during Tsu's birthday party," Don nodded, "Are you claustrophobic?" It would make sense, if he was ever stuffed in a tank as a Scorpion, and if he had it before it would've been made way worse by the experiment.

"Hm? Oh no." Sam shook his head. "Electric is. He's so scared of closed spaces that he takes the stairs when he comes to the hotel. He doesn't use the elevator at all. The only time he did was when Miranda went into labor...nearly went right into a severe anxiety attack. Thankfully he didn't pass out, his priorities were in a different subspace. I just don't like crowds. I don't like them anywhere near me at all."

"Oooh, okay. How's he handle driving a car then? Window down?" Don arched a brow ridge, "What about Cassandra?"

"Window cracked just a bit." Sam agreed. "What about Cassandra?" He asked, looking at Donny a bit curiously.

"Does she have a phobia or fear of any kind like that?" Don shrugged, "Fear of needles, claustrophobia as well, you know anything common like that."

"Yeah...." Sam nodded as he stopped searching and stood up straighter, stretching his back a little. "She has a lot of fears. Men is one of them. She's terrified of men. She can handle them, she knows how to hide it...unless they touch her. Once that happens, your lucky if you get a broken arm or wrist."

Don went silent at that. Standing he looked at Sam curiously, watching his demeanor. Big brother protectiveness radiated from him. "I noticed today Raph was moping because Cass didn't want to hang out with him like she did yesterday. Completely blew him off and he doesn't know why. Do you think that's it?"

Sam bowed his head a little, he didn't move but it was clear that he was deep thought. When he spoke, it was soft as if he was taking care of saying each word. "That might be part of it. It's hard to gain trust with Cass. It's not hard to gain her loyalty, but her trust is very hard to keep. I don't blame her in the least for that. Not after everything's she's been through. He mentioned somethings that really hurt her. Not that he knew about it...and she wouldn't want him to apologize for it."

"Raph can't make sure not to do something again if he doesn't know what he did wrong in the first place," Don said gently, "I won't say anything if you don't want me to, I'm just putting that out there." He had a feeling Raph suspected it, though, so it wasn't like he needed to say anything anyway, "I hope she doesn't avoid him for long. Casey can't be the only one keeping him out of trouble," he smiled a bit.

"Cassie won't." Sam smiled. "She's stronger than that. So much stronger. I admire her sometimes, I'm the one whose supposed to be strong. She puts me to shame." He fell silent for a moment and then said, "Cassie was a volunteer for the experiment. Out of the 16 people only 4 had volunteered. Lily because she didn't feel like she belonged anywhere. Francis for wanting to be with Lily. Tori volunteered because she was a drifter and had no one to call family. Cassandra....never spoke about her reasoning. When you're blackmailed, you automatically have limits, boundaries. But when you volunteer, the gloves come off...anything and everything is acceptable."

"I see, I didn't know that. May...I ask what happened to Lily and Fransis? They knew each other before?" He shifted around and stepped carefully over to look through the piles, spotting an old TV. "We'll have to haul this monster to the truck along with the stuff in my bag," he grunted, shifting things off of it.

"Here, let me help." Sam said quickly going over to the T.V and both of them lifted it. They paused in their conversation in order to move it towards the truck and once it was set down, Sam began the story again. "Yeah. They knew each other. Franny was smitten with her, but he tried so hard to keep it a secret. Well...Lily went into heat during the experiment and they were debating about what they could do. Andy was the one that told them to use Fran...and so they shoved them in a cage together. Lily already loved Franny...it was just a horrible way for them to get together though they never regretted having Hota. They were murdered by Hawk, Tsuyoi's twin brother who was completely insane and went berserk. They were killed soon after Serenity died."

That was...so depressing. He wondered what they were like as a couple before they were killed. It probably would've been sweet, like Nix and Candy. That was his musings, though. "Serenity...who is she?"

"Serenity was Phoenix's younger sister and Tsuyoi's best friend who was practically her sister as well." Sam answered as he leaned against the truck. "We used to call her the faerie princess because she was so innocent and carefree and just loved to be around people and nature. She had this loving atmosphere about her. You would have enjoyed her company. She'd ask questions about you until you were tired."

"Was...that who you were all crying and toasting to on Saturday?" Don murmured, "We all noticed that, and Leo mentioned Tsuyoi kept touching the lotus in her hair. What is her story?"

"I don't know how she got into the experiment." Sam said slowly, "But what I do know was that she was in a relationship with Hawk. Well, Hawk discovered that Phoenix and Candace were gay and he went crazy. He thought that Serenity was a lesbian for Tsuyoi...thought that she was cheating on him...so...he lured her into an alleyway, attacked her, killed her right as Tsuyoi was turning into the alleyway because it was her patrol route. Tsuyoi grew into a rage and they fought...Hawk blinded her. That's why she wears the sunglasses, there's horrid scars on her eyes and her left eye is completely fucked."

He sighed, "Trevor was called in on to the scene because of "disturbance of the peace" and what he saw....He was the one who told Nix that Serenity died. It broke everyone's heart."

Donatello's eyes widened and he could only imagine the horror of finding those you cared for murdered. Birds of prey...they had to be able to shred things to get at the meat inside. The mental images made Don put his hand over his mouth and shuddered, "That's...terrible. I'm sorry. That would explain the mask Haley got her," he nodded.

Sam nodded, "Yeah." He took a breath and sighed. "Sorry you were asking about Cassandra and we got side-tracked with other stories. Was there more you wanted to know? About anything?"

"Well, knowing everyone helps understand the individual. Tragedies shape people," Don explained with a shake of his head, "What was your reason for the experiment? You named the ones who volunteered, which means you were blackmailed."

"I was an assassin who was given the choice between death or freedom." Sam admitted. "I chose freedom over death, which I'm thankful for. I met my wife and I'm happy. Trevor...Trevor was given a choice as well. Since I would be escaping, there would be people that would think that he was in league with me and that he helped me escape. So it was either live in that type of slander, or have the public believe that I broke out and took him hostage. The slander would have ruined him completely. He would have never made as a police officer if he didn't."

Taking it in and thinking about it, Don eventually nodded, "Very smart move. It's a horrible situation for anyone to meet their mate in, but I'm glad you did in any case. You two are so close. I think I'll save any other questions I have for those who are still with us whom I can go to directly. I do thank you for telling me what you have. It put a whole new light on things. Can I tell my bothers about Fran and Lily and Serenity?"

"I don't mind." Sam shrugged. "Best if you did so that no one accidentally steps on a landmine."

()

"I'm glad you agreed to come down with us," Raph grinned at Cassandra. It was Friday again and they were all in the train lair. Cass had taken a good long look around before she took a seat in a single chair. Raph took another one, keeping his distance but also staying close. He didn't want to scare her off again. "My friend Casey is supposed to drop by in ten or fifteen."

"What's he like?" Haley asked as she found the couch and sat down, scooting over to persuade Mikey to come sit next to her and leaned against him happily. Cassandra would have to tease her later for being exactly like a hyperactive puppy.

"Casey and Raph could've been twins, I swear. They're so similar," Mikey laughed as he held Haley close with his arm around her shoulders.

Cassandra had noticed that Raph was keeping a respectful distance away from her. She felt a little guilty for making him stay so on guard, but at the same time, it was probably better this way anyway. At least, for now. "How did you can Casey meet?" She asked, turning to Raph for this question.

"We were after some Purple Dragons not too long after the Battle of New York and I was driving my Shellcycle after him. He tried to race me and we ended up in the park," Raph snickered, "My brothers eventually showed up too while he and I were beating on the thugs and he was surprised but since we were on the same team he took it fairly well. I think he liked my attitude, too. He and April hit it off really good and we've all been a great team. April covers our stories and puts us in a good light."

"He's been a great ally to us and a wonderful friend. He and his other friend, Angel, helps us keep tabs on the foot and the Purple Dragons." Leo explained further a little. "We've fought real well together."

"Angel? Who's Angel?" Tsuyoi blinked at them.

"She's Casey's charge," Raph answered again, "They used to live in the same neighborhood and Casey took her under his protective wing. She's sixteen now but when she was thirteen-fourteen she tried to /become/ one of the Purple Dragons. I ended up helping Casey out and we got her out of that situation. She got her head on straight after that but still finds ways to get into trouble."

"It's good that she's not stuck like the most of the Underground. Once you're there, you can't get out." Haley nodded earnestly.

Cassandra's eyes merely flicked to Haley, but didn't say anything about it. "April's a news reporter, you mentioned that once. But what does Casey do? I don't remember, you might have told me, but don't they also have their own family?"

"I babysit their daughter Abigail," Raph nodded, "When I first me him Casey didn't have a job. He used to be Pro-Hockey, NHL. His tag is his old hockey mask. Now he works as a mechanic."

"That's a cute name." Cassandra's expression softened a little. "Abigail. Does she run all of you ragged or is she more of a calm child?"

"Buttercup isn't exactly hyper, but she's not calm. She has all of the sass," Mikey snapped his wrist, acting like a prissy gay guy for a moment, "Her favorite colors are black and green and she wants to be a super hero when she grows up like us, oh my god," his voice was pitched higher and he put both hands on either side of his cheeks.

Haley cracked up, covering her mouth as she let out a stream of giggles. Cassie was hunched over the arm of the chair, laughing hysterically while Leo just shook his head, also chuckling.

Tsuyoi also busted a gut, laughing hysterically and gripped her sides. "Buttercup? Like the Power Puff Girls?"

"She dresses like Buttercup, too. Tight green dress with a black buckle, white tights, black Mary Janes, and she has her hair cut in a bob," Donny piped up, turning in his swivel chair, still tightening the screw of something that would end up going back to Fireside for his lab.

"She has black hair from Casey and bright green eyes from April. Brighter than yours, Tsu," Mikey nodded.

"That's adorable." Cassandra said, managing to get herself together. "Wow...I wonder how she'd get along with HQ and the rest of the kids." She paused and then shook her head from left to right. "Sorry, I was just thinking aloud."

"That sounds like a fun playdate," a new voice echoed and slid down a guy with black hair down to his shoulders. Turning around he had piercing blue eyes, and tucked up in one arm was his daughter. His outfit was plain, just a solid red shirt and ripped dark blue jeans with black boots, "Hey guys! I see you have some lovely new ladies on your arms," he gained a wolfish smirk.

"Casey!" Raph jumped to his feet, amber eyes lighting up, "I didn't know you were bringing Buttercup!"

"Surprise!" Casey laughed as he slid down the double railing, Abigail squealing with her arms in the air.

"What's new Casey?" Leo greeted back, smiling as Raph went over to take the kid from Casey to hold. It was very obvious that Abigail had Raph wrapped around her small fingers.

"Well, Angel told us the latest heist the Purple Dragons are considering doing," Casey stretched, grinning as Raph tossed Abby up and down into the air, but he knew he was still listening. He shifted and got more comfortable on the railing as the seating area was full, and he didn't want to take Raph's seat, "They're going to be hitting the docks and Hun's going to be there, so you know it's serious."

"What's at the docks?" Cassandra asked, folding her legs and tried to keep her attention on Casey even though her eyes wandered to see how Raph was playing with Abby.

"My guess is a shipment of weapons," Casey frowned.

Tsu leaned forward, "Who's Hun? Why is it serious if he's going to be there?"

"Hun is huge, like a mountain and just as difficult to take down. Half the size of the Hulk," Mikey spread his arms wide.

"It takes all four of us at once to take him down," Don frowned, "Going one at a time or even two on one isn't enough. Raph can get knocked around like a rag-doll."

"It doesn't help he'll have lackies trying to go after us and distract us," Mikey bit his lip.

"Would you guys like help? I could fight," Tsuyoi offered.

"You don't even know what we're really up against. Sure you helped with the Purple Dragons, and that was an amazing thing, but at the same time you don't have a lot of practice." Leo frowned. "You'll get hurt if you come along."

Haley scooted back into the couch and holding her hands up nervously. She could already see the fireworks going.

Mikey went quiet, too. Uh-oh. Raph sensed the tension, knowing it all too well. He took Abigail to the Hashi room in the back, going up the stairs and disappearing. Casey didn't follow.

Tsuyoi stood up to stand face to face with Leo, "I'm a black belt, it's not like I forgot how to handle myself, and we train at Fireside. I live /in/ a gang. I can take care of the little guys while you four handle Hun. It's not like we'd tackle them all at once, either, right? Take them out slowly from the shadows until there aren't that many left."