The headache that wracked against her skull was the worst pain she'd felt in years. It was as if a drum was beating the inside of her brain, keeping time with her pulse to a steady rhythm of agony. Echo lifted her hand and pressed it to her forehead with a quiet groan. What the hell happened? The teenage girl attempted to recall her newest memories, but could only see visions of the dream she'd had before- a dream filled with giant green, shelled, mask-wearing creatures with weapons and men all sharing the same face.

"Sensei, we didn't have any other choice. She needed medical attention and the nearest hospital was over an hour away!"

That voice... it was...oddly familiar. Like a song she'd heard in a taxi but forgotten the name of. The source of the memory eluded her like water dripping though her fingers no matter how hard she tried to contain it in her hands. It took her longer than a few seconds, but after a while of thinking, Echo finally pieced together when and where she'd heard it. The fight from her dream, the tallest of the four creatures who wore a purple mask. What had the others called him... Bonnie? But that was impossible. It had been a dream, nothing more and nothing less.

At least, that's what she thought til Echo took in her new surroundings. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around, slowly sitting up as the pain in her brain continued to ail her.

It was dark, save for a few lights hanging from the ceiling, scattered across the room. The walls were made of brick and stretched upwards around eleven or twelve feet, the floor consisted of smooth stone while the room in it entirety appeared to be as big as a typical high school classroom, furnished with three desks all covered in papers, lab equipment, and bottles of anti-inflammatory pills closest to her along with an old computer on the farthest one and two empty chairs resting at either side of the examination table she'd been placed on. Someone had been kind enough to give her a pillow to lay on and a blanket to keep her warm, but it still didn't change the most important thing she'd realized:

She was not in April's apartment.

"When I told you four that you could go to the surface, I thought the worst thing you could've brought back was a stray cat or dog, not a human girl." A stern voice replied to Bonnie in another room, an older man's voice that must've been in charge of whatever this operation. Though Echo was doing her best not to panic, the fact that he said 'surface' like they weren't above ground in New York caused a small hiccup of fear in her throat. "You need to return her this instant.

Was she in their basement? She wasn't being held captive, was she? There were no chains or leather straps to hold her down like in those scary movies she and April liked to watch on Halloween, and they were kind enough to give her a blanket and pillow, but still... It didn't sit right in Echo's stomach to be there, especially if the rest of her dream had been reality and the O'Neils had been kidnapped by a group of men in black suits.

"You didn't see what that guy did to her, Sensei. He literally grabbed her by the throat and smashed her head against a car!" Another voice chimed in, this one sounding a bit younger and Echo matched the tone to the orange-masked animal-human thing that had been fighting in that scene earlier as well. "She could've died!"

"Which is why you should have taken her to a hospital!" The man responded, his voice raising slightly as the conversation progressed. A moment of silence passed and a sigh escaped the man's lips. "I know you had good intentions, but now we have a whole new problem." Slowly, quietly, Echo pushed the blanket off her body and swung her legs over the edge of the table.

"I don't think she's going to be a problem, though," As Echo's boots silently touched the stone floor and she stood up, she recalled the being with the red mask, the one who'd helped her escape from her kidnappers and tried to convince her he was a good guy. "She didn't seem as scared of us as the redhead was and even joined in on the fight when she could've ran away."

"And maybe she's safer here than she would've been in a hospital," A new voice joined in. This one she hadn't heard in the fight, but used the process of elimination to conclude that it must've been the only remaining turtle-like creature, the one in blue. "What if that kidnapping hadn't been random? What if those men had targeted them specifically for something? They could be looking for her right now."

"But then why would they have tried to kill her instead of taking her with them?" Bonnie interjected as Echo silently tip-toed her way towards the door of the laboratory, pressing her back against the brick wall as she continued to listen in on their conversation. "After they knocked her out, they could've dragged her body into the van with them. We were far enough away thanks to our terrible group-fighting skills that they had enough time."

"My sons," There was a tapping sound, just two quick clicks like a rock hitting stone and Echo wondered if the father of the turtles had a cane or staff, using it to get his sons' attention once more with one final sigh. "We can discuss this later. For now, I would kindly ask if the young lady listening would like to step forth so we may properly introduce ourselves."

A sudden chill shot up her spine when she realized he was addressing her directly as she hid in the lab. How he knew she was awake and trying to hear what they were talking about was beyond her, considering how cautious Echo thought she'd been to make sure her presence remained unknown. But despite that, she took a deep breath and did as she'd been asked, walking into what appeared to be the living room of this strange underground facility.

***

Raphael and his brothers watched as Blondie stepped into the living room from Donnie's lab. The four of them and their giant mutated rat sensei, Splinter, had formed a small circle in the middle of the room during their discussion and all eyes turned to the doorway.

Although her neck was bruised where the man had grabbed her and her hair was a bit disheveled, she didn't look too bad considering the trauma she'd been through only hours prior. Her clothes weren't ripped in any places they weren't supposed to be and her glasses had survived the fight without being broken, though they were a bit smudged along the edges where specks of dust had settled.

"Sorry...about that..." She trailed off somewhat sheepishly as she slowly walked towards them, her eyes looking down at the floor and her hand rubbing her forearm as a nervous tick. "Just wanted to make sure I was safe..." Raph could feel his chest ache as he watched her approach then stop a little over a yard away, understanding why she'd be questioning her safety. After all, they'd only met a few hours ago under the worst kind of circumstances.

"I assure you, young one, we mean you no harm," Master Splinter explained, then nodded his head with a curt bow. "My name is Hamato Yoshi, and these are my sons," The sensei began to go down the line, each boy giving her a small smile as they were introduced. "Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael."

"Nice to meet you all, I'm Echo," She introduced herself as well, seeming to become a little more comfortable with the group as the seconds went by. "Thanks for saving me from...whoever the heck those guys were."

"Don't worry about it," Raphael was the first to respond with a friendly smile, which was something Mikey, Donnie, and Leo couldn't remember seeing on his face before, folding his arms and taking a step towards her as his three other brothers exchanged subtle glances. They their best to hide their smirks as they all knew exactly what the other was thinking, but Raph still caught wind and elbowed Mikey in the ribs before returning to his newly-pleasant self. "We're just happy we could help in time."

"Not exactly," Donnie stepped forward as well, clearing his throat and Raph shot him a quick look, raising a brow suspiciously. "We still need to rescue the two others that were with you." Echo's eyes widened at the mention of the two individuals and she nodded enthusiastically, her long hair bouncing slightly as she started popping her knuckles.

"Yeah, okay, what's the plan?" She asked, though her tough-girl facade wasn't fooling Donnie or the others. As grateful as they were for her wanting to assist, a major concussion was something that shouldn't just be pushed aside based on circumstance. "What do you want me to do? How can I help?"

"Woah, woah, woah, easy there, tiger. You need to take things slow for awhile." Donnie stopped her and placed a hand on her shoulder to hold Echo steady when her body began to sway. "We've got this covered, though we can't do anything yet til the sun goes back down this evening." He informed her and Raph looked over at the clock on the wall.

5:24 AM. People would already be waking up and getting ready for work or going for their early-morning jogs around the city. He could already smell the scent of freshly-brewed coffee and various breakfast snacks wafting through the sewer grates. Donnie was right, they'd have to wait throughout the day before him and his brothers could make a move.

"There has to be something I could do," She pressed on. "I feel like I should repay you guys in some way. You saved my life after all..." It was then that she slid a hand into the back pocket of her jeans. And the brothers exchanged glances once more, though they were looks of confusion and uncertainty as to what Echo was getting at. "Oh my god..." She gasped and the four boys did as well as she pulled out a giant wad of cash.

"Holy Toledo, where the heck did you get that?" Donnie questioned, pointing to the pile of twenty-dollar bills in her hands. "You didn't rob a bank before this, did you?"

"No, no, no," She shook her head quickly, then groaned as she shut her eyes and pressed her free hand to her forehead. Raph and Donnie didn't hesitate to lunge forward, steadying her before she could fall over. "This is the money my friend and I have been saving up for the past few weeks. Our goal was to spend it all this weekend."

"All of it? Why? On what?" Leonardo asked and Master Splinter gently passed the group of teens, heading for the dojo.

"I'd recommend you four take this conversation to the lounging area," He nodded toward the two-step pit that took up a third of the room where their TV was plugged in and a couple bean of bags sat slumped over. "That way Echo can take a seat. I will be meditating if you need anything."

And with that said, the giant rat exited the scene, leaving the five of them to their own devices.