“Guys! Leo and Donnie are hurt really bad!” Mikey runs in, his baby blue eyes filled with fear.
I put down the book I'm reading.
“What? How?”
“They were attacked by a few Foot Ninjas they didn't see coming!” He says panicked.
Just then, Leo and Donnie stumble in, bloodied and bruised like no tomorrow.
“Omigosh!” I take Leo by the arm and lead him over to the couch.
“I-I'm fine, little sister, just--ow!” He clutches his shoulder, his face contorted in pain.
“No you're not, Leo, let Raph bandage you and Donnie up..” I say, smiling a little.
He thinks he can fool me by putting on “The Fearless Leader” mask, but he knows I know when something is wrong.
After Donnie and Leo are patched up, Leo looks up at from where he's laying on the couch.
“Guys, I think it's time we let Isabella go on night patrol with us.”
The air is still for a moment, then Mikey breaks the silence.
“Aw, yeah! This is finally happening, my little sister’s gonna be a kunoichi..”
“Mikey, she's been training with us for as long as we can remember, she's already a ninja..” Raph snorts
“Ah-ah-ah, she's a kunoichi, Raph. Don't be sexist..”
“I'm not being sexist, I'm just--”
“Okay, enough, you two..” Leo snaps
Mikey wraps an arm around me, smiling
“Get out your notebook, Izzy.. we're going to teach you the ways of the surface..”
I laugh.
“Mikey, I already know the ways of the surface. I go to school, remember?”
“Yeah, I know.. but do you know the ways of the surface..at night?”
He had a good point there.
“No..”
“Well, now’s you're chance..”
I brighten.
What the heck? It could be a good chance to sharpen my skills. And who knows, maybe I could beat up some bad guys in the process..
“Alright! When do we leave?”
“Now,” Raph said
“What?” I say surprised
“Yes, now..ninjas don't wait, koibito” Raph said, sprinting away, Mikey following close behind.
“Hey! Wait up!” I run after them as fast as possible.

*~0~o~0~*

Mikey puts me on his back when we get to the rooftops.
“Ready, Izzy?” He asks.
“Ready as I’ll ever be..” I say, giggling slightly.
He pops off like a shot and leaps into the air at full force.
“Booyakasha!” He screams, his eyes gleaming bright like a kid at a candy store.
I on the other hand scream bloody murder.
We go on like this, hopping and bopping around like a pinball machine on a sugar high.
We finally land with a hard thump.
I shakily get off Mike’s back
He laughs “A little bit of a wild ride, right?”
“You're telling me..” I say still a bit dizzy.

A door suddenly opens from the floor below us. I freeze
“What was that?” A voice says.
I peer at the person below.. no way.
It's him.
I lose my grip on the building’s siding and go tumbling down
I scream as I fall to the patio, grabbing at the air wildly.
I hit the patio floor with a hard thump.
“Omigosh, are you alright--” the person comes to help me up.
“Yeah,yeah..I'm fine..” I look up at the Good Samaritan.
And blush a deep scarlet red
It's Jake Adams, one of my best friends and crush.
“Are you sure---wait, Izzy? What are you doing on my rooftop?” He pushes his reddish brown curls out of his face, revealing his Kelly green eyes.
“Well, I..I…” I stammer.
Then the bombshell drops.
“Hey, Izzy! Are you okay down there?” Mikey’s head pops over the top of the building.
Jake stumbles backwards into me his eyes wide in shock and fear.
“W-what the hell is that?” He screams
“Jakey, calm down--”
“Dude, chill. No need to use nasty language..” Mikey hops down.
“Izzy. Explanation, please..” Jake says through gritted teeth.
I push a lock of my wavy raven brown hair out of my face.
“Well, you know how I said my family was kind of odd..?” I start
Jake turns to look at me.
“Oh god...that thing is..”
“Her brother! Not to mention her favorite one!” Mikey wraps an arm around me, smiling proudly.
“B-but how can you.. a beautiful--I mean a human girl, be related to him?” He gestures to Mikey.
“I..I was adopted..”
An awkward silence fills air above us, heavy and thick.
Mikey breaks it, obviously. He sticks a hand out to Jake.
“The name’s Michelangelo,dude..A.K.A Dr. Prankenstein, Dr.Flippenstein,The Greatest..but you can just call me Mikey for short.”
To my surprise, Jake starts to laugh. He shakes Mikey’s hand.
“Cool, man..I'm Jake, Izzy’s friend..”
“Well, we should probably be going..” I say, tugging Mikey to the fire escape ladder.
“Aw, Izzy! Why? Jake can totally come hang with us at the lair! I'm sure Sensei will allow it..”
I look over at Jake who's checking his phone.
“Jake, do you want to come over for a bit?”
He looks up, and cracks a smile
“Yeah, sure.. my folks are out of town for the weekend so I'm on my own.”
“Okay, dude and dudette! Let's go!” Mikey runs off the fire escape and speeds down the alleyways hidden in the back.
Jake and I shrug, and follow behind.