“You’ve GOT to be kidding!” I cried, my voice somewhat above a whisper.
     “Shh!”  Raphael hissed, putting a finger to his lips.  “Do I look like I’m kidding?”  The manhole cover scraped against the asphalt slightly as he removed it.  “You comin’ or not?”
     I eyed the hole, curling my lip with distaste.  Looking up at him, seeing the hopeful eyes he was trying to hid with an annoyed expression,  I smiled in spite of myself.  I approached the manhole, reaching up to pat Raphael’s cheek before gingerly starting down the grimy ladder.
     “Oh man,” I sighed, peering around the dark, dank tunnel,  then looked up to watch The Turtle replace the cover, plunging me into almost total darkness.  “. . .Yikes!”  I jumped as a hand closed around mine.
     “Sorry,” came Raphael’s voice to my right.  “Let’s go.”
     “Geez, Raphael!  Could you scare me like that again?  Maybe next time my heart will jump completely out of my chest!”
     “I said I was sorry!”  I could almost hear him grinning.  I sighed my annoyance and allowed him to lead me through the darkness he seemed to know so well.  We walked in silence, my eyes adjusting enough for me to make out his broad form.  He held my hand tightly; I could feel the dampness of his palm against mine.  Is he nervous?
     Finally I spoke.  “Raphael. . ?”
     His head turned slightly at the sound of my voice.  “You can call me Raph.”  His words drifted back, echoing against the walls of the sewer.
     Raph?  “Uh. . .OK;  Raph?  Are you SURE it’s all right, your bringing me home with you and all?”  The thought of causing a problem made me uncomfortable.
     “Don’t worry,”  his voice was reassuring.  Hmm, a man. . . er, turtle of few words, I thought, recalling our past conversations.  Letting his statement hang, I didn’t press, but felt my self-consciousness continued to grow.
 We sloshed without words for a while longer, then Raphael began to slow.   “All right, stay here.  I’m gonna go talk to them first.”
     “But. . . “ I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of standing in this dark, smelly place by my self.
     “It’ll be fine.”  He put a hand on each of my shoulders and squeezed gently.  Then slipped into a door a hadn’t even known was there.
     I was alone.
     “It’ll be fine,” I repeated Raph’s words to myself.  Looking around the tunnel, I tried to keep my mind from wandering to thoughts of strangers seeing me for the first time.  I wondered if they would react the way Raph and Casey did.  Pushing away my mental image of myself, not wanting to see it, I sighed and peered up at a nearby grate.
    My inspection was interrupted by sounds.  I spun reflexively toward them: Cheerful whistling and approaching sloshing.  I crept back against the wall, slowly drawing my sword and crouching in an attack-ready stance.  To my surprise, a sort of familiar figure rounded the corner.  The shorter, perky Turtle was carrying a paper bag, full from the looks of it.
    He came a few steps closer, then stopped, I guessed sensing my presence.  He shifted the bag to his right arm, narrowed eyes scanning the area.  I must have been far enough in the shadows that he couldn’t see me, but soon realized visual contact was not necessary.  The Turtle reached around his back, slowly, and with an almost casual motion, sent a missile in my direction.  I gasped, darting to the left as the nunchucku struck the wall where my head had been moments before.  My sudden movement gave away my position;  I regained my composure only to find myself face to face with an angry-looking Turtle!
    Surprise caused me to swing in my sword from the left, toward his neck, which he blocked with the chain of his other ‘chuck.  His attention on my blade made it easy to hook my foot behind his ankle.  Grody water splashed up as he fell, getting into my eyes.  I cursed, trying to wipe it out, but the Turtle was already on his feet.  He’d managed to keep his nunchucku; the speed of his twirling billowing my cloak.  I was able to block his right to my face, but wasn’t fast enough to stop a high kick that clipped my arm.  I cried out, in surprise more than pain,  but stopped a ‘chuck to the head with my sword.  My arms, especially my left, were burning with fatigue, slowing my moves.  The Turtle brought me down onto my back with a low spin kick.  I struggled to get up, but he prevented it with a foot on my chest.  He reached down to pick up my sword.
     “What in the hell are you doing?!”
     I sighed in relief at the appearance of Raph;  he shoved the shorter Turtle away, and squatted down beside me.  “You OK?”  He helped me to my feet.
     I nodded, “Yeah, I’m fine,”  rubbing the spot on my arm where I’d been hit.  “Good shot,” I offered, as Raph snatched my sword from the confused Turtle.
     “Come on, lets go inside.”  Raphael shot one more angry glance at the other Turtle, then guided my through the door.  The sudden light made me squint, but once recovered I saw the eyes I had felt staring.  A room full of Turtles!  The one I had fought had moved in to stand beside two others; he had retrieved his bag of stuff, which was slightly damp.  He was clearly the shortest, and wore an orange bandanna.  Next to him was a strong, buff form,  confident in his stance, wearing a blue mask.  He had a pair of swords strapped to his back, handles sticking up on either side of his head.  The Turtle beside him was clad in purple and leaned on a Bo.  Bright, intense eyes peered at me from behind his mask.  None appeared angry or ready to attack, but all looked very confused.
     Raphael stood beside me, putting a hand on my shoulder, but pulled it back quickly.  “You’re soaked!”  he eyed my dripping cloak, which still had the hood pulled up.  Moving behind me, he then slowly--as if unveiling some great work for the first time--helped me slide out of my wet garment.  I kept my eyes on the floor for a moment, suddenly shy.  One of the new turtles gasped his surprise.  “Guys, this is Mona Lisa,”  Raph announced, hanging my wet cape on a hat rack near the door.
     I slowly brought my head up to meet their stunned gazes.  “Hi.”  I lifted my hand in a tentative wave.  No one spoke.  Gulping nervously, I glanced at Raphael, but he was doing the same thing his buddies were:  scanning my body with quick eyes.  I didn’t mind really, it was an expected reaction. . . from the others.  I was, however, a bit annoyed with Raph.  He should be helping me, because I was sure my discomfort was obvious.
     “It is an honor to meet you,” a voice startled me.  Sitting in a well-worn chair was a large rat.  I hadn’t even noticed him.  His fur was graying, his back was bending slightly from the pain of old age.  His eyes, which were meeting mine, reflected much wisdom and love.  For some reason his words and his gaze made me feel calmer.  I could feel my body relax a bit.
     I smiled at the rat.  “Thank you sir, the pleasure’s mine.”  He nodded, then shifted his eyes from mine to the Turtles.  As if the look was a cue, the Turtle in the blue mask shook off his trance strode forward.  He had to tilt his head down slightly to look at my face.  Shaking away my timidness, I met his eyes, examining his features.  There was a definite resemblance between this Turtle and Raph.  They ALL looked quite a bit alike, brothers I guessed.
     I felt the blue masked Turtle’s large hand close around mine in a strong hand shake.  “My name’s Leonardo.  These guys call me Leo.”
     The one in the purple bandanna came forward to join his brother.  “I’m Donatello, but you can call me Donnie if you want.”  He grinned pleasantly.  I smiled back, finding it contagious.
     The last Turtle hung back, so I decided I would approach him.  He glanced up nervously as I closed in.
     “I already know you,” I joked, watching him blush slightly.  He was closest to my height, I could easily look into his eyes.
     “Sorry ‘bout that,” he mumbled, lowering his gaze again, rubbing the back of his head and tracing an invisible line on the floor with one of his two toes.
     “Hey, don’t worry about it.”  I waved my hand casually.  “I was a stranger in your domain.  I would have done the same thing.”  Offering my hand, I smiled reassuringly.
     The Turtle visibly relaxed and took my hand, shaking it vigorously with a big grin.  “Name’s Michaelangelo, friends call me Mikey!”  I knew this was his real personality emerging:  lively, perky, an innocent sense of humor.
     Raph was suddenly there, taking my other hand and leading me toward the rat.  He knelt before the slight form in the chair.  “Master, Mona Lisa is an excellent fighter.  She helped Casey and I tonight.  I figured since she seems to be a mutant like us, the best place for her to be is with US.  She has no memory,”  he glanced up at me, “I believe she has no where else to go.”  I hadn’t thought of that.  Now that he mentioned it, I couldn’t recall a vision of a “home.”
     The rat was listening to his student, but gazed at me.  I felt as though he could see into my soul through my eyes.  He appeared thoughtful for a moment, then turned to look into Raph’s face.  What ever he read there made him smile knowingly, then nod.  “My dear,” the rat held out his hand; I took it without hesitation and knelt beside Raphael.  “You are welcome here for as long as you wish to stay.  My name is Splinter.”  He looked to the other Turtles, who approached and knelt behind us.  “Our guest is to be treated with respect,” he said firmly.  The four around me nodded.
    Splinter turned his attention back to me.  “My students will make you comfortable with our home, and arrange a suitable place for you to sleep.  Please, feel free to join us in our morning workout tomorrow.”  He rose to his feet,  then helped me to mine.  Raph stood silent as the Rat held my gaze.  I thought I read a hint of concern in Splinter’s deep brown eyes.  He then bowed to his students, and walk out of the room.
     “Come on,”  I felt Raph’s hand on my arm, “I’ll show ya around.”  His grin was wide with enthusiasm.  I was almost instantly surrounded by smiling Turtles.
     “Ok, ok.”  I shook my head, amused.  ‘I wonder what I’m in store for with THESE four as my tour guides?’ The thought made me smile.  I liked it here all ready.