Destiny hasn't stopped running despite how every part of her body is begging for rest. The wolf girl refuses to slow down. The idea of the Kraang coming for her is enough to spur her onwards past the burning lungs and aching muscles. She's managed to go nearly fourteen years without being detected and she isn't about to lose that record now.

She casts her gaze down to the road as she nears the one place where she knows she'll be safe and free of judgement. Thankfully, the streets are empty of activity, hostile or otherwise. For New York, this neighbourhood can get awfully quiet. They call it the "city that never sleeps", yet there are who knows how many mutants living on the streets that no one has noticed yet, mutants that have managed to evade the public eye.

Either we're all awesome at stealth, or New Yorkers are as observant as a pile of bricks, Destiny thinks to herself.

She hurries down the nearest fire escape and races towards the warm glow of the noodle restaurant almost directly beside her. She hardly takes a second to check for customers as she throws the door open and shuts it behind her. The delicious smell of fresh food hits her in a wave as soon as she's inside.

"Murakami-san?" she calls, panic obvious in her voice.

A grey-haired man with dark sunglasses and a white apron shuffles out of the kitchen, a gentle smile on his face. He tilts his head towards the girl, listening.

"Destiny-chan, I thought I recognized your voice!" he says as his smile grows.

Destiny moves towards the counter at a speedy walk, eyes darting at every direction as she practically throws herself into a chair and loops her fingers through her windswept curls.

"I...I think the Kraang found me," she croaks out.

Murakami's brow furrows slightly. "You are panicked. I will make you some passionflower herbal tea while you tell me about what happened."

He turns away to begin boiling some water. She shakes her head, trying to calm her breathing and debating whether or not she should turn down tea. She doesn't need tea! She needs a way to erase herself momentarily or possibly a solid hiding spot.

"They...they were these green-skinned men with turtle shells, but they spoke English!" she starts, her hands trembling as she clenches and unclenches her fingers. "One of them nearly tore my home apart, and..." Her face flushes as her ears droop. "Oh no, my bag...I left everything behind! I...oh no..." She buries her face in her arms, her tremors starting to worsen.

"Child, I think you must first settle your thoughts," Murakami murmurs, a knowing smile back on his face. "The tea will be ready soon. Until then, try to let yourself rest."

The mutant hesitantly agrees, turning her head out of her elbow-cave so that there's light and fresh air hitting her face instead of darkness and the smell of her own breath. She watches Murakami whistle softly as he checks the kettle, then busies himself with cleaning his centre kitchen. He moves so easily that Destiny forgets that he's blind sometimes, but then again, their relationship would be a lot different if he could see.

He's the only human being that she can talk to and probably the one thing that has kept her from going insane with loneliness, ever since the day they met when she was nine years old. She had gotten incredibly sick after a bad rainfall, but Murakami brought her in and nursed her back to health. Ever since then, she's repaid his kindness by running errands for him whenever she can, getting ingredients for the restaurant and such. His disability makes it hard for him to do it himself, and while Destiny is a mutant, she has her ways.

It mostly involves her leaving cash near businesses and taking what she needs from their produce trucks when they're unloading, but that's just another reason why she tries to make herself useful with other things. He decided long ago that she didn't need to repay him, but he's also realized that she isn't one to try and argue with.

At the end of the day, Murakami is the closest thing Destiny has ever gotten to having a family, despite how their relationship has more of a mentor and student dynamic. He did teach her how to cook a thing or two, just in case.

Murakami places a steaming mug in front of Destiny. She pushes herself off her resting surface, the fruity scent of the tea already serving to make her feel a little less sick.

He leans against the counter, resting his hand on his chin. "So...green alien men?" he repeats, amusement evident in his tone.

She nods, taking a tiny sip of the tea and wincing as it scalds the tip of her tongue. "Alien turtle men, that were green...and muscular," she mumbles, staring into the cup.

He laughs softly. "Destiny-chan, those were not aliens." She gazes up at him, lips parting as her eyebrows lift. "They were the ninja turtles, mutants whom have saved my life many times."

"You know them?" she nearly chokes. He chuckles at her reaction, making her cheeks flush as she takes a less hot sip of tea.

He nods. "They are very honourable young..." He stops to decide his next word, but smiles and shrugs. "...men. They have helped me with the Purple Dragons."

Destiny's free hand curls into a fist and her teeth grit when she hears the familiar name, but she shakes it off in lieu of another sip of tea. The Dragons aren't her concern right now, nor are they ever. She just happens to know of their reputation around here, next to having witnessed some of their crimes in person.

"So...these turtles aren't going to turn me in?" she whispers, unable to bring her head up to meet Murakami's blinded gaze.

"Completely," he replies. She remains silent, taking a gulp of tea and breathing out as the warmth floods her throat. After a moment, Murakami continues, "In fact, they could help you."

"I don't need help," she mumbles against the lip of the cup. "I've gone this far by myself, I can go my whole life like that."

She sets the cup down and stands up, but doesn't take any steps towards the door or anywhere else. The blind man's face softens as he straightens up.

"You would not be here if it weren't for others, Destiny-chan," he says, tone soft. "You would not have escaped the Kraang if it weren't for another's help. You would not have survived that rainy night where a stranger saved you from that dark shadow baring down on you. You would not have lived past two years old if it weren't for that old woman—"

"Three people that I can hardly remember," she snaps. She stops herself as Murakami frowns. When she speaks again, she softens her tone, "I...I know I haven't done things completely alone my entire life, but...that's how I do it now, and the past doesn't matter." She turns her head away, pressing her lips together.

Murakami thinks over her words. A smile that has seen many more years than her graces his round face. "The past isn't something you should brush off so quickly, for it's the events of the past that have made you who you are."

"A past that I can't remember? My entire life before seven years old is...a painting that's been ruined by water. The colours have blurred, faces are unrecognizable, and I can't tell friend from foe." She tilts her face up to the ceiling, squinting at the light for a moment. "Metaphorically, of course."

"You may not remember, but that doesn't mean that it didn't happen."

Destiny's head lowers, the streak of black hair in her bangs drifting across her face with the movement. She sighs out, hooking her thumbs in the loops of her tattered jeans as she pivots to look at Murakami again.

"All I know is...that I've always ended up alone, and in the end, that's how it'll always be," she says, a tinge of sadness in her tone that's unmistakeable. "Might as well get settled in now." She reaches out for the mug and takes one more long gulp before setting it down. "Thanks for the tea, Murakami-san."

He looks up at her with a sort of discontent in his expression. It disappears after a moment or two as he pats the counter and smiles.

"Destiny-chan, do you know that you are a beautiful person?" he asks.

"What?" she responds. His smile grows wider as he waits for her to answer. She lowers her head again, tucking a stray curl behind her human ear. "How would you know? You can't see me," she says, fidgeting in place.

"Exactly. I see your heart and personality, without the mask of physical looks. That's how I know your true beauty."

"Murakami..." She smiles just a tiny bit, a short laugh leaving her. "Why do you say these things?"

"I didn't want you to leave here without smiling. That is all."

Her smile grows just a little more. "Oh..."

"Goodnight, child. Be safe."

"I will."

The bell tingles softly as she pushes the door open and peers out into the dark streets. No one's around to notice her, so despite her tendency to avoid the low road, she heads out onto the sidewalk and starts walking.

The streetlights create tiny patches of yellow light on the empty road, the occasional bird letting out a shrill note to its companions. She breathes deeply, returning her attention to the task at hand, getting back to her old home and seeing if she can recover her belongings.

It's a fool move and she knows it, returning to a place where she's been discovered, but she wants her belongings back and by God she's going to get them.

The headlights of a van appear on the street ahead of her. She ducks into the alley directly beside her without a second thought, reminding herself why she can't go walking on the sidewalk. She glances to the far end of the dark strip, hoping that the brick will be suitable for climbing.

----------

"Those...those...those dirtbags!" Destiny curses to herself as she sifts through the broken pile of wood that used to be her temporary home.

Her backpack is gone, her pizzas are gone, even her Shakespeare book and her broken flashlight have been taken. What could turtle mutants want with those anyway?

She stands up, kicking one of the boards in absolute frustration at everything. "Stupid...stupid...stupid! I should've just stayed back and maybe talked to them instead of acting like a frightened puppy!" she scolds as she loops her fingers into her hair and tugs repeatedly.

Something scuffles near her that makes her go silent. She perks up, her tail swaying slowly as she looks around. All at once, she realizes just how very open this rooftop is. Without her woodpile, there's nowhere to hide.

The familiar sound of pebbles grinding against gravel sounds for a split second to her left, making her entire body freeze up, wolf ears twitching as they search for the sounds of nearby people. Feeling antsy, she takes a few quick steps to the edge of the building and hops off, shimmying down until she touches down in the alleyway below. Being covered is a whole lot safer.

At least, that's what she thinks.

An arrow zips out of nowhere, grazing her shoulder and pinning her roughly to the nearest wall through her shirt. She barks at the sudden pain, her hand flying to the cut as her teeth grind.

A second later, she shifts her eyes upwards to see a cloaked figure standing on the rooftop above, a bow clutched in his hand and a quiver of arrows on his back. She can make out most of his appearance; his black pants and boots, his red shirt and his fluttering black cape. Something silver glints in his right earlobe from behind his unkempt white hair, which she notes has been pulled back in a low ponytail.

Destiny growls, reaching for the arrow and yanking it out of the wall. With it, the material of her shirt rips, leaving a gaping hole in the cloth hanging against her shoulder-blade.

Against her better judgement, she reacts using sarcasm. "Hey buddy, I don't have a lot of shirts, okay? You mind not ruining them?!" she shouts.

He removes a second arrow, nocks it, aims, and releases in the span of about three seconds. Destiny gasps and launches to the side, the arrow impaling the opposite sleeve and thankfully missing her skin this time.

She moves to take the arrow out and repeat her previous action, but the stranger nocks another arrow and aims it at her head. He keeps it aimed there as he jumps from the roof to the fire escape below him, wobbling slightly with the landing.

"Wouldn't do that again," he utters, his low voice gravelly and vaguely British in accent.

She stares up at him, now able to see that while his lips are pulled into a scowl, he has one pointed tooth that sticks out from the corner of his mouth. His eyes are almost pink in colour and just as animalistic as Destiny's own, but somehow more reptilian, and a thin scar marks his left eye and nearly cuts his pale eyebrow in half.

"Yeah?" she asks, baring her fangs as she unsheathes her claws. "You and what army?"

He hardly arches an eyebrow as he lifts his free hand and snaps his fingers. Destiny looks away from him as strange ninjas with a footprint on their clothes appear from all parts of the alleyway, making strange robotic noises as their bug-like eyes glow red.

"Oh...that army," she mumbles.

Provoked, she lets out a low snarl. The pale man above her offers no reaction save for a short head nod.

One ninja lunges for Destiny and she swings her leg out and nails it in the face. It collapses as purple sparks emit from its chest. Another comes racing in from the opposite direction wielding a tantō. She rips the arrow from the wall and her shirt, swinging it out in a weak attempt to block the oncoming attack. The tantō bounces off the arrow with the sound of ringing metal, giving her enough time to rake her claws across the ninja's chest and face. It shorts out and collapses into a pile on the dirty street. More ninjas replace the two she just took out. Horribly outnumbered, Destiny decides to pull out her secret weapon.

Time for full wolf.

She drops onto all fours, her form changing to that of a hulking black wolf in an instant. She howls into the sky, challenging the bots to attack as her hackles raise. The cloaked stranger's eyes widen in surprise, then fade with a sense of confirmation on his face.

The bots move instantly. Destiny growls and snaps, taking down as many as she can with swipes of her powerful claws and sharp teeth. Their blades and swords slice across her, taking off chunks of her thick fur, but she doesn't pay any attention to whatever pain she's feeling. Her adrenaline keeps her going for all of a minute or two.

She knows how to fight like a wild animal. The robotic ninjas can pull off defined moves. Her attempt to keep them all away is weak at best; she's incredibly outnumbered and her moves are predictable.

She pants heavily, spinning to face another assailant. Behind her, a ninja whips a kusarigama chain that loops around her hind paw. With a sharp tug, the wolf yelps and spins around, her legs slipping out from under her and one paw twisting the wrong way.

She throws her furry head back and howls again. The sound is mournful, loud, and nothing like the fierce battle cry that she let loose earlier. The ninjas close in.

"No...not like this," she urges herself.

With a final burst of strength, she shoves herself upwards and smashes any robot too close to her. Once they're nothing more than sparking piles of metal, the wolf makes her escape.

The archer watches her disappear, shutting his eyes as a heavy sigh escapes him. He looks down at the shattered remains of his minuscule platoon.

"Tsk," he utters, slinging his bow over his shoulder as his pink eyes flicker to the stars. "'M gonna get hell for this."