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“More business?” Angie raised an eyebrow in curiosity, exchanging a look with Leo before noticing Karai’s demeanor towards her.  Not wanting to back down, she stood tall.

“Because I might not see him a lot, but I still worry about him. He’s family,” She glanced to Leo for a brief moment. “Look, he warned me about coming, even. How you wouldn’t approve. But after what happened on the streets, how do I know he’s going to be okay when he was coming here?” 

Karai studied the turtle as she spoke, not betraying any emotion. Finally, she nodded, “...Very well. But say a word to this to anyone, and we’ll make sure you don’t get away with it.” And with that, she unfolded the papers and gave them another look-over.

Alopex, however, didn’t look entirely convinced. Still, she backed down, her tail swishing as she joined Karai’s side to see the papers. Leo huffed softly; she wasn’t going to let this go, was she? At least, not like Karai seemed to. He looked to the woman, glancing between her and Alopex to see if his job was done. Neither gave him notice, save for a twitch of the fox’s ear. With a look at Angie, he motioned to leave the warehouse...

“Come here, Hamato.” Karai said, without even looking over her shoulder, “I want to look these over in a proper light before I let you go.” The woman’s heels sounded against the old wood as she walked off amongst the crates. “Then we all can get out of this dreadful place.”

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The voice was another that Angie didn’t recognize at all; and on the woman’s revealing of herself, the turtle froze.

She knew that face. She should have known, there was always some sort of relationship between her and a blue banded turtle. Why was Leo working for them?

Katsu— no. Karai… . Her heart sank at the memories that flashed through her mind. Angie could feel her eyes well, but she quickly wiped at them and blamed it on the fish smell of the warehouse, giving her own slight bow along with Leo. When in Rome, she reminded herself.

The turtle was introduced as a cousin, and she nodded in agreement at Leo’s statement. “Nice to meet you,” She quietly said.

Karai simply nodded, her gaze moving to the papers sticking out of Leo’s pocket. She smirked somewhat at them, looking up at Leo. “And now, you see why I couldn’t do it myself.”

“I suppose...” Leo glanced over at Alopex. The fox’s expression was impassive, though he could tell from her posture that she was still simmering. “Though I wonder why it had to be me to get them.” As opposed to anyone else here that could be more capable.

“Precaution, Hamato.” Alopex said, as if she had said it several times before this. Karai looked over at her colleague and nodded, “You know how it would look if either of us were to get caught.” She finished, holding out her hand.

Leo glanced at Angie with a frown, before he pulled out the papers and passed them to Karai. The woman smiled at the sight, giving each page a quick look before she neatly arranged them in her hands.

“Now, before we go any further, it appears as though there is a bit more business to attend to.” Karai turned away from Leo to look at Angie full-on, crossing her arms behind back. “Miss Angie? I appreciate you wanting to help your... cousin,” her mouth twitched as she said the word, “but you probably understand that coming here was a mistake.” Alopex narrowed her eyes at the turtle as Karai continued, “Mr. Hamato may trust you, but give me one good reason why Alopex and I should.”

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Her hand instinctively reached for her belt as an unfamiliar voice echoed off the old wood of the warehouse. Angie’s eyes widened at the sight of the fox in front of her, trying to place if she’d seen this one before, if at all, anywhere else. But her mind kept telling her no.

Just who is this? The turtle was not appreciative of the way she treated Leo in her demeanor, and she didn’t even have time to step forward before her brother interfered. 

“I promise I won’t say a word... But  I’m just here to make sure things are okay. Because of these papers he got hurt!”

“You be quiet!” A snarl ripped from Alopex, and she bared her teeth at Angie, “I do not approve of anyone being late. Especially when we designated our meeting to be in a place such as this. It will take forever to get this awful stink out of my fur...”

“Alopex, that is no way to treat someone who helped.” Leo perked at the sound of another voice. Alopex’s wrinkled muzzle smoothed instantly, and she backed up a few steps as another came from behind a stack of crates. The new person’s--a human--gaze moved between Leo and Angie, and she continued, “Especially when the help contributes to keeping our friend in one piece.”

Even though she was practically dressed in a blouse and bloomers, the woman stood straight and tall in front of the turtles, confident, her gold eyes quickly taking in Angie’s appearance. “And this is...”

Leo tipped his hat to her, bowing slightly. “This is Angie. My, cousin.” He said it with the slightest of hesitation, giving Angie a quick glance before he continued, gesturing to the woman, “Angie, this is Miss Oroku. My second boss, so to speak.”

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Angie felt like she recognized the look of this harbor. Maybe it was that strange sense of deja vu that came with a lot of this version of New York, but she couldn’t quite place a finger on it. It smelled way fishier here than back home, but her mind went to a place of Donna explaining how 2014′s air wasn’t quite as clean. Still, wasn’t as bad as the sewers most of the time.

Her face twisted at the look of the warehouse and she cringed. This was where his second boss was? What kind of meeting place is this? Even Purple Dragon had a better hideout.

“I don’t like the look of this place, Leo,” Angie shook her head. “And not because of it looking like that to begin with. I’d rather come inside to make sure everything’s okay.”

Leo smiled at Angie and nodded. “Very well. Keep an eye out for any trouble, just in case, all right?” He went into the warehouse first, edging along and around the crates carefully, blinking in the darkness for anyone lurking about.

“Mr. Hamato, you are late.” A voice sounded from the rafters above them, before someone landed soundlessly in front of them. The white fox growled disapprovingly at Leo, before she snapped her head in Angie’s direction, “And with a friend, to boot.”

“She won’t say anything about this, Alopex. I promise.” Leo took a small step in front of Angie and calmly met the fox’s glare. “She got me out of a tight spot. The papers wouldn’t have gotten here without her.”

Alopex continued to glare as she looked between them, debating on what to do. Finally, she huffed and straightened, folding her arms. “Be it as it may, I am still not happy, Hamato.”

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“Oh-kay then,” Adjusting her hat so it would sit right, Angie took notice that maybe not all of her questions could be answered for good reason. “Well, that explains the badly trained goons.” Shoving her hands in her pockets, she smiled a little at the people walking the streets. It was still so surreal to her that she could walk around at night without actually having to hide in shadows or use the rooftops as refuge. She considered her brothers here lucky. They didn’t have to live in the sewers.

Following behind Leo, she was finding it hard to not get distracted by this particular street. This wasn’t one she’d seen yet. “Seventeen,” she answered, admiring some of the clothing lines in the alleys nearby. Simple things that were taken for granted in 2014. 

“I thought Mikey’s thing was papers,” She mused. “Does your boss always have you delivering not-good things?”

“Technically, she’s not my boss. Or rather, my second boss.” Leo hesitated and glanced at her. “It’s complicated. My actual boss, he...” His voice trailed off in uncertainty, and he shook his head, refusing to elaborate further. “...It’s complicated.”

They continued on through the city, past the tall tenements and business buildings, towards the harbor. “...While I’ve done things for her, before, this is the first ‘delivery.’ Apparently she couldn’t do it herself this time.”

With a sigh, he came to a stop in front of a dilapidated warehouse. The building was old for him; he couldn’t imagine what it was like for Angie to see. Leo’s nose wrinkled at the smell of fish and whatever else stank; this was an odd place to meet for someone like her. But, he supposed this would be the last place anyone would look.

“This is it.” He turned to Angie, looking serious again. “Listen, she might not like you being here. You don’t have to come in if you don’t want. However, she probably already knows you’re here, and I do not know how long I will be.”

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Angie could understand why he was taking a few different turns here and there; she had to admit she was impressed by his street smarts. New York apparently never really evolved from the dangerous streets, it seemed.

She had to think for a good few moments at his question. So much had happened since she was last here.

“I don’t remember how long it’s been exactly,” she confessed, “But I know it’s been uh, at least six months or so for me. Maybe a year? We had to leave New York for a little while. Long story short, we got chased out to Massachusetts…” Rubbing her head in frustration, Angie tried hard to think how long it really had been. 

“My turn; What makes those papers so important?”

“That’s... a little odd to think about.” He raised a brow at her, taking in her new height once more, “It has not been nearly as long, here.” Leo had come to accept that time moved faster where Angie came from, than it did here. But the thought that other worlds existed, and not just in books, was still somewhat unnerving.

Leo frowned again as he scanned over the papers. They contained records of an assortment of asset records, land deeds, worker information, and they all pertained to some mines out West.

Raph had said something about suspicious mining while he was on his travels...

“...I can’t say, exactly.” He said softly, carefully putting the sheets in his jacket pocket. “Something not good, I know. That’s up to my employer to find out.” He turned them around another corner and out of the alleys, onto a major road. A few buggies were out, along with pedestrians enjoying the night life. Leo pulled his cap so it hid his eyes in shadow, and crossed the road as quick as his leg would allow him. Almost there. 

“So, how old are you now?”

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She hadn’t even begun to follow him yet, and his serious stare just proved to her how dire the situation was. It felt wrong to hide something like this from the boys, whatever this actually was, but she trusted that Leo had his reasons. Lea was the same way in that case. She supposed even if in the past, leader siblings were still leader siblings.

Angie nodded at Leo, swearing her secrecy. “You have a kunoichi’s promise.”

Leo studied her for a moment before he nodded in approval. Angie made the same, exact expression Mikey did when he was serious. It was a little funny, really. “All right. Come on.”

He set off again, taking a somewhat round-a-bout route than he had planned. He wasn’t sure if anyone would be watching, but it was just a precaution. “So, what you had asked earlier, about these papers,” He looked over the stack, his brows furrowed in thought. They were wrinkled, and it looked as though some of them got the better of the cobbled streets. “They belong to their boss. It’s their job to track them down if they go, uh… missing.”

Frowning, he tucked the papers under his arm and gingerly rubbed his plastron. Gosh, he hurt. If he was ever sent on an errand like this again, he was certain to be more careful...

“Now it’s my turn.” He looked over at her with a small smirk, “Where have you been before today?”

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It just wasn’t worth fighting Leo’s persistence, she realized, and she rolled her eyes in annoyance as she reached into her pocket to take the papers out. “Okay, okay, fine. Here,” She placed them in his outstretched hand, and then gestured to the street before them. “Then I’ll be on bodyguard duty. You lead the way; these are your streets.”

Angie’s cheeks turned red at his comment. So he noticed it,  too. She scratched the side of her head, embarrassed,  only to notice she still had the orange mask around her eyes. she dragged it down to wear it around her neck, shoving her hands in her pockets. “Wanna trade off on questions and answers?”

Leo nodded and carefully straightened the sheets in his hands into a neat, small stack. “This way...” He paused before he even limped two steps, and turned to look at her pointedly. “Though you must promise me now, Michelangela, that you will not tell my brothers about anything that happens here, tonight. Understand me?”

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"Just cause you told them you’d be late doesn’t mean they won’t worry. Same for me, I come to see you and here you are, getting beat up by thugs with weak knives." Angie smiled, although she looked concerned at Leo’s bruising on his shell. She also took notice that things definitely had changed since she last came; for instance, her eyes met his when she stood. Before, she was just below Raph’s forehead. 

Shaking her head, Angie gently patted the pocket on her plastron. “I think I oughta hold onto them a little longer. If more of those guys come, I’d rather have them hit me instead. Why are they important to those boneheads?”

“Angie, please. I need to see if they’re still in good condition.” The smile flickered on Leo’s face, then tightened as he held out his hand. “I appreciate your need to help, but I have to get these delivered as soon as possible.” 

He sighed and let his arm drop, and looked at her apologetically, dragging a hand over his face. “Look, I can answer any questions you have, but we’ll have to do it while walking. I’d rather not get caught if there are any more of his men looking...” He shook his head and motioned for the papers again, letting a friendly smirk quirk his lips. “I also have some questions for you, little sister, if I can even call you that anymore.”

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A smile of relief appeared on Angie’s face as she saw Leo approaching.. But it quickly fell to worry as she saw him limping towards her. 

'Guess I got to see you after all.'

"Anything for family, Leo." She didn’t hand over the papers just yet. It was probably best that if they were targeted, they could go after Angie instead. And lose. "But are YOU okay? I heard things going down from the apartment. The guys are worried."

“I told Donnie I’d be home late. It’s not like I haven’t been, before.” Leo frowned as he looked Angie up and down. He could have sworn she had grown a few inches taller, and there was something in her bright eyes that was different from her last visit. Questions bubbled up in his mind, but first...

“I’m fine, though. Most of it was on my shell, so it’s going to be sore for a while.” He casually brushed off his clothes and smoothed out his shirt, though he was careful about his shoulder. “Please don’t tell my brothers about this. I'd rather they didn’t know about these particular errands.”

He straightened and smiled, glancing at the papers in her pocket before looking back at her. “...Can I see them?”

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“I get told that a lot,” She saw his annoyance in the handling of his knife, and heard it in his voice. “But, I’m gonna say nah.”

I’m getting those papers. With no more stalling, Angie planted her foot and shot an arm forward towards the man, releasing one of her nunchaku to extend to its kusarigama form, sure to keep the bladed end in her hand. She might’ve wanted to get back at this guy for hurting Leo, but to actually bring blades to the situation seemed a bit much. A classic beatdown seemed better.

As the chain wrapped around the man’s wrist, Angie charged and yanked her arm straight down to disarm him. He came forward and stumbled, only to have his midsection be met with her foot to force him back and to the ground. 

The turtle was quick to finish the fight, but not without giving the thug a few of his own new bruises. Her final blow and the last thing he saw before seeing stars and black was a large fist to the nose.

Bending down to search his jacket, Angie kept a frown on her face. It wasn’t often she’d felt the need to do something like this, but it felt necessary for around here. Putting her nunchaku back in its rightful place on her belt, Angie gently put the papers in the front pocket of her loose overalls, ready to head back to her brother’s aid.

But not without kicking the man’s calf hard enough to bruise and hurt to walk with.

“That’s for Leo.”

Leo was certain that if he blinked, he would have missed something. Angie moved so fast; her training showed more in those few moments than he had ever seen it. After a brief hesitation, he came out from around the corner, limping somewhat as he cradled his arm. “Well... that was impressive.”

He straightened when he reached her, a grateful smile growing as he noted the papers in her overalls. “Good. You’re all right.” He sighed and winced at a twinge in his stomach. “...I apologize about earlier. That was... well, rather unintended. But thank you so much for your help.”

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Angie had to admit that she wasn’t expecting the knife. Apparently this person had been more prepared than she thought. 

“A knife, huh?” She tried to play it off, releasing the scythe from the nunchaku that held it. “I got one, too.” The moment was cut short at his comment. She rolled her eyes, annoyed. “Did you really have to drop the ‘m’ word? Really?” Man, some parts of early New York were flat out rude.

The turtle rearranged her footing to stand defensively, staring down the man through her mask. “But y’know, when it comes to the whole regret thing, that’s going to be you. You hurt someone important to me, so now you gotta make time to deal with it.”

The man’s eyes darted between her face and the blade she held, but he stood his ground. “You talk too much.” He spat, waving his knife in front of him, “You’re not gettin’ the papers. Now get outta here.”

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Putting her recent training from Northampton to the test, Angie blocked out the angry shouts and swearing of the two men now encased in the smoke. She had an objective from Leo, and with the way she found him, this was obviously something extremely important. 

The man who threatened her before was closest; Get him out of the way and/or distracted first, then get the papers and show the other guy mercy for hurting Leo. As her palm met the first man’s jaw and forced his head backwards, Splinter’s words from over a year ago rang through her head.

The first rule of a ninja is to do no harm. She wasn’t causing harm to this one, he just needed to get out of the way. Just knock him out. Angie could roll her eyes at his feeble attempt at trying to reach at her. Brutes. Nothing but muscle, no brain in with the way he fought. Much like Ella. But Ella was smart in the way she used muscle.

The thud of the man hitting the ground made her grin with pride. One down, one to go. Her smirk stayed on her face as the smoke dispersed. How was this other guy going to go down? Nunchaku to the side of the head to make him match his friend? Sweep his feet out from under him?

Unless she is meant to do harm. Then do lots of harm. I think I’ll give him one last chance and ask nicely.

Getting cocky, Angie slung one pair of her nunchaku over her shoulder and lightly swung the other pair back in forth in her free hand. “Do you mind if I have those papers back? Kinda need ‘em.”

“They ain’t his to begin with.” The man sneered, pulling out a knife and pointing it threateningly at her. “Now scram, mutant, or you’ll regret it. I ain’t got time for this.”

--

There they were. Leo hid himself around the corner and peered at the scene. He had to admit that he was impressed; he had seen Angie’s nunchaku, and even had seen some of the demonstrations she had given to Mikey and the others, but he had never seen the kunoichi in action.

His breath caught at the man’s words, and he looked to the ground with a frown. Sure, the papers weren’t his, but... they were important. More than he probably realized.

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Leo! Angie took a few quick steps toward her interdemensional sibling to help him up, but his order seemed more important. Papers? Just what is Leo up to?

A swift nod, and she took off, as silently as her clothing would allow her, at least. The denim moving against itself was making a noise that was annoying to her and her kunoichi instincts, but it would have to do. After all, where were ninja around here? 

Shoving her nunchaku into their holsters, she turned a corner sharply to see the two men running ahead. Think Angie, think…

Smoke bomb!

Reaching into her pocket, her fingers wrapped around two of the smoke eggs Donna had made from back home. Hopefully it worked on thugs of the past…

Thankful to have arms thicker than the men ahead of her, Angie threw the eggs just steps ahead of them. If it worked the way it should, it’d distract them for the few moments she needed.

Leo stumbled and braced a hand against a wall, putting his other arm over his plastron with a grimace. This was not one of his finer moments, by far. But once the worst of the nauseous feeling had passed, it was easier to walk straight.

Hopefully Angie could track the men down. Too much was on the line if this was messed up. Wincing again, he picked up his pace, following after the sounds of angry--and familiar--shouting.

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Angie’s white eyes squinted as her expression became serious. Leo’s frustration against the other man wasn’t going unheard, and every second he was with him was a second too long.

Taking her attention back to the man stepping towards her, Angie gave a warning swing of both her nunchaku. “Why don’t you make me?”

“No...” Leo groaned, reaching out as the sheets disappeared into the human’s jacket. The man scowled down at him, kicking his side for what could be assumed for good measure. It was unnecessary, as far as Leo could tell; he didn’t feel like he could jump right back to his feet, anyway.

A sharp whistle sounded above him, and he blinked several times before the man came into focus again. He was swinging his arm, getting the attention of his partner. “Got ‘em! Let’s go!”

“Next time, then, I guess.” Leo could hear the other man say to the newcomer, and a second set of footsteps passed right by him. Leo coughed, swearing as he tried to get up. The world spun violently, and he stumbled to all fours, gritting his teeth in frustration as he watched them run down the alley. No!

His eyes snapped to the other turtle (it is Angie), and he shoved away several questions to point down where the men had disappeared, his voice rising in urgency. “Angie! Get those papers! I’ll be right behind you!”

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It took the kunoichi a while to get used to the spacing between the apartment buildings of 1900 New York City, but as her mother had taught, any ninja had to be a professional at adapting. Besides, she had a destination to get to.

Crashes became louder as she neared the source of the noise, and on leaning over an alley, Angie’s jaw dropped.

Leo? No way…wait a minute, what’s going on?

She had to squint to make sure. The turtle below was wearing a hat and clothing much like the others back in the small apartment, but that face was recognizable by any angle. But what was with Leo being in a fight with these people? Usually, or at least from her own experience, Leo was the one to try and stay out of the fights. He was the voice of reason. What was he doing in this situation?

And from the looks of it, it wasn’t going well in his favor. Hearing Leo’s painful cry made Angie practically see red. You don’t hurt any member of the Hamato family and just get away with it.

Leaping down from the rooftop and using her hand to grasp the fire escape landing to slow the fall, Angie finally landed with a purposefully audible thud onto the cobblestone street below. Lowering her own hat and straightening her mask, she reached for her nunchaku and held her hands in front of her defensively.

“You think picking on turtles is okay?”

“You should get outta here, kid, if ya know what’s good for ya.” One of the men said lowly, stepping forward towards the girl. The other man glanced up at the newcomer briefly before turning back to Leo, seizing him by his shirt and lifting him from the ground.

Wait, was that-?

Leo swung punches blindly, but it wasn’t enough to make the man to let go. He felt a knee hit him hard on the plastron, and he doubled over, gasping for breath. A hand reached into his jacket, and Leo could only watch, cringing, as the human pulled out the papers, spitting on the ground before him.

“Dirty mutant...”

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“Yeah,” She sounded a little disappointed, sighing. “I’m sure whatever he’s doing is important. I’m finally home though, so trust me when I say I’ll see you more. There’s always next ti—”

Angie was cut off on hearing an echo break through the silence that was New York in 1900, causing her gaze to sharply go toward the open window. She was used to hearing horse drawn carriages and automobiles as opposed to sirens and horns honking, but what just hit her ears wasn’t anything like that.

Focusing on the street’s silence again, another echo cracked. Splitting wood…? A crate knocked over or trampled?

“I’m just gonna go check that first,” She mumbled. “Visit’s been extended for a few.”

Before long, solid brick rooftops were under her feet as she ran silently across and leaped above alleyways. Ah, this was familiar. That feeling of freedom.

Footsteps proved themselves to be the noise that drew her out, with the panting of someone who was being chased. Angie’s eyes turned white as she adjusted her mask over her face, concentrating hard on trying to find the footsteps’ source. Who was being chased? Why? 

Leo jammed his hat back on his head and scrambled to his feet, shoving down another stack of crates as he went. Still the men pursued, hot on his heels. Why wouldn’t they just quit?

Come on, come on, come on... He jumped and snagged the bottom rung of a fire escape ladder with one hand, and tried to push himself up to the landing above. No good. Leo felt a hand grab his foot, and with a strong yank, his grip on the ladder was gone. He ducked his head partway into his shell as he hit the ground, hard. He groaned, looking up at the pair of men in a haze.

The papers... they couldn’t get those back.

One of the men reached for his jacket, and Leo snapped to enough to back away. Still too slow; the human fisted his collar in his hand as Leo kicked him away in the stomach. His breath seized at the movement, and he was yanked forward by the man’s tight hold on his shirt, causing him to fall back to the ground, right on the shoulder that he had landed on just moments before.

Stars burst in his vision and he cried out in pain, cutting if off short by clamping his jaw. This was far from fair; he wasn’t cut out for this. Sure, he could hold his own well enough against some thugs, but hired hands, who seemed to know the streets as well as him?

He supposed it was a good thing he told Donnie he would be home late.