Revelations of the Heart

How it began.

Aella Jones, 15 years old

New York, New York 2016

I sat behind the counter at Murakami's watching the evening news. April O'Neal from Channel 6 was running the breaking report on what was happening downtown. Apparently some type of alien portal had been opened over New York. The threat had been contained and things were winding down as every news channel tried to be the first with all the details. In the background I saw my brother, Casey, with the rest of NYPD. Casey had dumped me here at Murakami's while he went off to help save the world hours ago with no explanation. I watched April call him over for a comment, and didn't miss the absolutely smitten look he had on his face, not that I could blame him. She was beautiful. Then she gave him a dazzling smile and brushed his arm. Great. He had a girlfriend. I didn't even know when he had met her. I took a long drink of my coke and sighed. He was my older brother, and had gotten shackled with me after the deaths of our parents. I loved him, but when I hit puberty it was like he didn't know how to handle me. I didn't mean to be a handful, but when I got emotional or didn't know how to handle myself I missed my mom. Casey was awesome when he was just my brother. He was less so as a parent but I loved him for trying so hard to be both mother and father to me. I pushed a dumpling around my plate, glancing at the clock. I had finished my homework, helped Murakami wash dishes, and eaten two plates of dumplings. I was tired of waiting. I packed up my bag, told Murakami I was leaving, and headed out the door towards our apartment. Opening my phone I rang Casey with no answer. It was getting dark, and I was getting wary of the 'no news is good news' policy he had put in place when he became a corrections officer. Still walking I opened the app he had installed in my phone to let us see where the other was at all times. Just then a message popped up covering my screen. 'Hey sis. Got held up with paperwork. Go on home. Lock the door and don't wait up. Love you'. I swiped it closed and was about to close my phone when it buzzed. His location was pinged near the Statue of Liberty. That couldn't be right. I stopped walking and hailed the first cab I saw to take me to him. Getting out, I paid the cabbie and looked around. There was nothing. Nobody on the street. I double checked the location on my phone, and heard a loud female voice come from above me. I walked around til I found a fire ladder and climbed up. When I reached the top I still couldn't see much, so I snuck around crouched down until I got a good vantage point. I saw police officers in rows, the back of my brothers head, and April standing beside him. They were facing who I assumed to be the police commissioner behind a podium, and then I did a double take. In front of my eyes, standing in a row, were four VERY large humanoid turtles receiving keys to the city from the NYPD. I was on my feet now, staring in shock. Hiding a fling from me was one thing, but being acquainted with mutants? I, like so many others, had heard more than my share of rumors about mutants living in New York in the last two years, since some kind of chemical plot was uncovered, but I didn't know what to believe until now. They were very real, smiling and waving. The first one wore a blue mask around his face. He had this look on his face, like pride, that reminded me of the one Casey got when I brought home a good report card. The second one wore what looked like a red do rag on his head. He looked proud as well, if a little apprehensive. His green eyes shone even with the glare of lights on his face. He was broader than the one in blue, and I could make out scars on his body. He held himself with the defensive stance of someone who was ready to fight at the first sign of trouble. I had seen that look on my brother before. The third one was covered in gadgets, but I could just make out a purple mask behind his goggles. He was the tallest, and honest to anything he reminded me of Steve Urkel. It was comical, and I snorted. He was smiling big, and I saw a gap in his front teeth that made him look friendly despite the nerdy appearance. The last one in the row was shorter than the rest, and wore an orange bandana. He had the brightest baby blue eyes I had ever seen, and had a megawatt smile. Out of all of them, he had to be the youngest. He looked ecstatic to be there. They all had on what looked like makeshift Japanese garb. We had done a unit on it in school, and they all had weapons strapped to their shells. Ninja weapons. They looked seriously badass, and honestly a little intimidating. I decided then that I would just turn around, go home, make pizza rolls, and sweat my brother until he told me he was terribly sorry for excluding me in this epic adventure he had obviously had. The commissioner was wrapping up her speech, and I saw Casey look down at his phone and immediately look around. Uh oh. I was made. He said something to April, showing her his phone, and they both began look around. I began to back as slowly as I could towards the fire ladder, but of course I had to have made somebody VERY angry in a past life, because I tripped backwards over a brick, too close to the edge for my liking. I caught Casey's eyes just then in time to see the look of horror cross his face. Before I could scream, I was falling, so sure I was done for, and then I felt something hard and cold wrap around me, and I was flying. Not flying, rising. And then I was unceremoniously dumped on my rear in front of my brother, April, and three of the four mutants. I quickly realized the fourth must have been the one to snatch me out of the air, and I whipped my head around to see the turtle in red standing with his arms crossed staring at me with a strange look on his face. My face got hot, and I opened my mouth to thank him profusely, when I was suddenly yanked to my feet and into my brother's arms. Behind him I could hear one of them saying 'I thought you were a goner for sure, dudette. Raph really put it into gear to grab you.' Peeking under Casey's arm I made eye contact with the short one with bright blue eyes. He was holding his mask with one hand, waving with the other, and saying 'Don't be scared. They're just masks.' He definitely sounded young, teenaged almost. The one in blue said 'My name is Leonardo. I'm glad you're ok miss.' More mature sounding. The nerd was muttering what sounded like medical stats to himself, and then asking me questions. Were my ears ringing? Did I feel like I had whiplash? Was I nauseous? Did anything feel sore or bruised? My brother let me go to shake the hand of the one that saved me. Raph? 'I can't ever repay you Raphael. I literally owe you my life. She is all I have left.' Raphael. It suited him somehow. I looked up at him. He towered over me, or maybe I just felt small because I was embarrassed. I was trying to thank him, but my mouth felt dry. I finally whispered 'Thank you'. He nodded, cleared his throat, and said 'you're welcome miss'. His voice was rough, with a hint of a classic Brooklyn accent. That intrigued me, and brought me suddenly back to the fact that there were four talking mutant ninja turtles that all somehow looked different and had developed individual personalities, and had saved the world from aliens just hours before, and my lame brother had been involved in it. I shoved away from him and glared up at him angrily. 'WHAT THE HECK CASEY? You leave me for hours during an alien invasion with no instructions and just expect me to be waiting when the dust settles? And how do you know these,' I paused, then continued in a hushed voice, 'mutants? And WHEN did you start dating O'Neal? I thought you said she was prissy on TV?' His eyes got wide. 'I'm NOT dating April. Where did you get that idea?' 'From the last time I saw the same look on your face that I saw today on TV, with you know who. I'm not mad Case. I guess you could do worse, and you deserve to be happy. I just don't want you to hide things from me. I'm not a kid anymore. Not mentally anyway. We look out for EACH OTHER, got it? It's not you against the world for me. I love you.' I tucked back into his side and he let out a breath. There was a pause, and then, 'I love you too Aella. Look, I do actually have some paperwork to fill out back at the precinct, will you let one of the guys take you home? I swear I trust any one of them with my life, and you are just that. I promise, I will fill you in on everything when I get home tonight, ok? Pinky promise.' He stuck his right hand out to hook his pinky with mine. 'You better. Alright, which lucky reptile gets to escort me home?' I joked, turning to look at them. The one in orange through his hand up. 'OOH OOH PICK ME! The name's Michaelangelo, but you can call me Mikey. Shall we m'lady?' He held out an arm dramatically. The one called Leonardo turned to the other two. 'Donatello, Raphael, let's go. Mikey, come straight to the lair when you're done. Thanks again for the help today April, Casey. Nice to meet you Aella.' Donatello nodded his head at me and jumped down to the next building, Leonardo following suit. Raphael turned to look at me again, that look on his face, like I was an anomaly, before he dropped out of sight with the others. Mikey's head popped into my face, saying 'You ready chica?' I nodded. 'Ok see you can hook your arms around my neck, dig your toes into my shell, cool? You'll be safe a'ight? I'll go slow. And point the way.' Him being calm soothed my nerves a little and I did as he instructed. We were on the fire escape outside my apartment in no time. He gently dropped me to my feet and smiled big. 'I guess we'll see you around then angelcakes.' He saluted me with a three fingered hand and climbed up to the roof. I could hear him whooping all the way out of sight. I wondered if I would actually see any of them again. Turning back to the window I jimmied the lock with a bobby pin and climbed inside. I cut on all the lights and began my bedtime routine before settling on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate and Netflix to wait for Casey. I got through two episodes of the new show Lucifer before I heard the key turn in the lock, and Casey walk in. He dropped his keys in the bowl by the door and came into the living room. He kicked off his boots and sank into the couch next to me rubbing his hand down his face in exhaustion. I paused the show and looked at him expectantly. 'I don't even know where to begin.' 'Ok, how about from the beginning of your involvement with this mess?' He nodded. 'Ok, so...'