Hello all and welcome to my fic. I posted a Fullmetal Alchemist story all the way back in 2005 and STILL get comments/emails about that story here in 2017. Years ago I figured I'd put my creative skills to the test, and decided to write an original fic, but between getting married, moving, working, deployments, kids, etc it still hadn't been finished.

Then I got this little plot bunny in my head and it dug so deep I couldn't ever fully get rid of it. Everytime I actually had time to sit down and work on my original fic this one started poking and bugging me. So I finally decided to just get it out and move on. It took me awhile, dealing with deployments and kids, but I've finally finished it!

The entire fic is finished, and I will be uploaded a new chapter every 1-3 days, depending on when I actually check the notifications on my phone :P Please review/comment whenever you'd like, and I hope y'all enjoy!

Chapter 1

Finally, fall was here. I love the summer, but I've definitely always looked forward to the slight chill that would cling to everything after sweating profusely for the last few months with the mid-year heat. Besides, the leaves change, and everything goes from green to lovely shades of red, orange, and gold as the trees prepare for their winter sleep.

The slight chill crept through the cracked taxi window and made the hairs on my arm stand straight up with goosebumps. I would definitely have to adjust my wardrobe soon and get used to this climate again. I had been gone a long time, a really long time, I remembered, long enough that it might take a year or more to properly acclimate to the cold New York winters.

The taxi pulled up to the townhome I had lived in my entire childhood. It was a moderately large home in the middle of the city. I was fortunate to have a better upbringing than most, with many more options open due to my parents' wealth and status. My dad had a full career in the military before transferring to head up the emergency department at one of the hospitals here in the city. Shortly after starting high school is when he was elected to congress, so our family was in the spotlight quite frequently. I never really liked the extra attention our family got, though I never let any of it go to my head like some others, opting rather to downplay my upbringings and helping those less fortunate than myself. A part of all this is what made me want to leave home for school, eventually finding my way halfway across the world where no one would know who I was, or who I was related to.

A smile broke out on my face as I saw my mother reading in her favorite spot at the front of the house. The open windows allowed so much light and fresh air in that kept the house comfortable during the transition months. Some things never change it seemed. I exited the taxi and paid the driver as he helped me get my bags from the trunk of the car. I didn't have much during the past few years, and was thankful I didn't need to worry about the logistics of intercontinental household shipping. I only had to ship a couple boxes ahead of me, but I'm sure they had made it safely and were stowed away in my room upstairs.

"You sure you don't need help getting these inside, ma'am?" the taxi driver asked me, gesturing at the large bags he had set upon the curb. I shook my head and thanked him again before he waved goodbye and left.

It seemed the sound of the vehicle and our exchange alerted my mom to my return, as when I glanced at the house I saw her leaning out the window and waving excitedly to me.

"Elena! Welcome home!" she called before pulling herself back into the house. I could hear her calling my father's name as she moved to come greet me. She seemed to be the same as I always remembered with a few extra gray hairs mixed into her blonde hair and a couple extra crow's feet at her eyes.

"Hi, mom, it's been forever," I said as I put down my backpack to give her a large hug. At least it seemed like forever since I had left for college. The elder woman pulled back and pushed a strand of black locks behind my ear before smiling.

"Too long, dear…too long. Here, let me help you," she reached down to help me pick up my bags as my father appeared and grabbed me into a large bear hug, lifting me off the ground and twirling me.

"Oh Leelee! It's so good to have you home finally!" his reaction caused me to laugh and roll my eyes. He never gave up on that nickname it seemed. I always found it funny he could find a way to shorten any name, and he had nicknames for everyone; I doubt he called anyone by their real name. It's annoying but endearing.

"I thought your plane didn't land until tomorrow morning? I had it all set up for us to surprise you at the airport!" he exclaimed as he helped to drag my bags into the house and up the stairs to my room.

"Well, they had a couple spots open on the red eye so I jumped on the chance to surprise y'all," I panted as I finally got the last heavy bag to the top of the stairs and opened the door to the room I grew up in. Sure enough, neatly put away in the corner, were the boxes I had shipped ahead of me. A small smile came to my face as I realized I'd be able to unpack it and give their contents to the intended recipients soon.

"Here, I left everything as you had it. I haven't touched it since high school except for dusting and whatnot. I did get you some new sheets for your bed, though. Couldn't have a grown adult sleeping on superhero sheets, now could we?" my mother flitted about the room, retrieving the bags from my father and myself before putting them next to the boxes.

I laughed slightly before responding, "No, mom…I guess I'm all grown up now. No more superhero sheets for me. I have to be all 'adulty' and everything."

We went downstairs where the smell of cooking food finally registered in my brain. My stomach rumbled in response. Between all of the flights and layovers I hadn't really eaten much of anything except what I could scrounge out of vending machines, so something homemade sounded absolutely delicious at this point.

Dinner was fun with the parents. I caught up on everything that had happened over the past years since I had been gone. My eldest brother Nathaniel decided to follow in my dad's footsteps and join the military after college, he was stationed somewhere in DC with a cushy medical gig. Seems like he'll end up retiring out and working in a hospital just like dad. Not surprisingly my younger sister Anya decided to embrace her rebellious traits and moved in with her tattoo artist boyfriend. My parents weren't too thrilled, but from everything I had heard about the guy in the emails she and I had back and forth he didn't seem so bad. He just wasn't part of the 'normal type they'd like to see her with. "People will talk," they'd say.

If only they knew the kind of friends I had. They'd really lose their minds.

Speaking of friends…I had promised to come visit once I had returned home. Well, I had contacted one to make sure I still had the current directions as they moved frequently when we were all younger. From talking to him they had stayed in the same place for a bit now, but made sure I had the ins and outs on how to reach them. He seemed super excited to hear I was coming back, but promised to keep it a secret to everyone else.

I helped my parents clean up from dinner and headed upstairs to find one of the boxes I shipped home ahead of time. Inside contained mementos from my travels and studies, as well as gifts for my friends and their father; I hoped they liked them. I tucked the wrapped gifts into my backpack and headed back downstairs to find my parents nestled together on the couch watching TV in the living room. Dad had just stepped down from his position on the hill and had come back as a full administration head for his old hospital. Between all the years of him being gone across seas and then the capital they had a lot of catching up to do. And now that all the kids were out of the house they deserved some time to themselves.

Hearing my descent, my mother turned around and smiled warmly before noticing I was putting my shoes back on and grabbing a light jacket from the front hall closet. "Going out already dear? You just got home and must be exhausted. You're more than welcome to relax with us."

"I know mom, and I admit I am a little tired. But I also promised to meet up with some old friends when I got back. We've got a lot of catching up to do."

Her slight frown signaled she was unhappy, but wouldn't stop me from leaving. My dad just waved absentmindedly from the couch, knowing better than to even try and argue. Smart man, that one. He knows once I set my mind to something there's no changing it. I get it from him.

"Don't wait up, I've still got my key. I'll be home in a bit!" I dangled the shiny metal in a slight emphasis before exiting the house.

The autumn air was surprisingly chillier than I remembered as I descended the steps to the sidewalk and putting a quick postcard I bought at the airport in the outgoing mailbox. Pulling the jacket closer to me I hesitated and almost went back inside for something heavier, though I knew if I did I'd be questioned even more by my mom, and I really didn't want to deal with that.

What better way to get used to the weather here than just to suck it up and deal with the cold. Oh well, it'll teach me a lesson for next time. Soon I'll be out of the slight wind anyway, since I was planning on taking the subway nearer to their home, then walk the rest of the way. Stretching out my legs after being cooped up on a plane for who knows how many hours seemed like a great idea. I began to walk and pulled out a small cellular device from my bag, quickly typing out a message that I was on my way, and placed it back in its pocket.

No matter where I've been and how I've traveled over these past years I can safely say that the New York subway system is part of my DNA. I thought I may be fuzzy on some areas, but instantly felt at home when I got down there. Navigating the routes came right back to me as if I had never left. I had definitely missed the familiarity of my surroundings and quickly settled into a seat before plugging my headphones in to pass the time.

It wasn't long before I found myself wading through the Saturday evening crowds towards the surface of the city. I walked around a bit before I was able to find a relatively empty area of town…now all I needed was an alleyway that had access to a manhole cover.

Most people wouldn't think twice about seeing a manhole cover in the streets, but I knew better. I knew what existed beneath the surface of the city's streets.

I crossed the street into the seedier part of the neighborhood and into the empty alleyway, walking from one end to the other to ensure it was truly empty before I withdrew a crowbar from my backpack to help lift the heavy cover from the ground. I lowered myself down into the darkness after using the tool to help drag the cover back over my head. It was always interesting to see the immediate change in noise level once you were below the surface of the streets.

Holding onto the ladder I swung my backpack around so I could replace the crowbar to the inside pouch and withdrew a flashlight. During the day it wasn't so bad, but at nighttime unless you memorized the area or could see in the dark you'd need some sort of light source. Descending down the ladder I landed on an elevated portion of concrete above the sewage water below.

Normal people wouldn't think twice; why would someone even want to go down into a sewer? I'd actually had been doing it for years now…

Walking home from school alone had been a common occurrence for a couple years; most kids lived close to the posh neighborhood the school sat nearby anyway, so those who didn't get picked up in their mommy and daddy's fancy cars and SUVs were often in groups giggling and laughing as they walked home together towards the city's outer edges.

Not me, I was never one for being part of the "in" crowd. Mom and dad always pressured me to make more friends, more contacts I'm assuming for the network of adults they knew, but I never really found anyone who was genuine enough that I liked to hang around. Nathaniel never had any issues with friends, and Anya was a couple years behind me, so I was always pressured to play along. Ugh, I hated it.

Instead of being with the groups of giggling middle school girls who walked down looking into all of the expensive boutiques I walked alone, preferring the silence and peace to my thoughts. Granted, nowhere in New York was truly quiet, but I always took what I could get.

I had forgotten exactly what I was mad about that day, but I sulked as I walked past shops in the direction of my street.

Out of nowhere I saw a brief flash of light, and I looked in the direction it could have come from. What was that? All I saw was an electronics store with a bunch of televisions in the window. They all were blaring that weird Gwen Stefani song and video, "Hollaback girl" that was trendy among kids my age. I was never a big fan of pop music. Too loud and annoying. I would gladly take dad's classic rock any day of the week.

There…there was that flash of light again. But it was down low; maybe from the street? Well, that didn't make any sense. I looked around for a few more seconds when I finally noticed where the light came from. It was from under the street, but…

Wait, are those *people* in the sewer? I can't really get a good look at them, since it was shaded, but it looks like there's a couple people down there. One is holding a pole or stick, I think, with a mirror attached to it, looking towards the television sets. It's bobbing slightly to and fro, like whoever was holding it was in time with the music.

So there's people living in the sewers now? Are they homeless? Maybe I could give them directions to the nearest facility that could help them. I crossed the street once the traffic lessened and stood just a foot or so above where I thought I saw them; it sounded like kids! Maybe even my age. Apparently an argument started amongst a couple of them, and I could hear their voices begin to move. Weird.

Anyways, I followed the voices best I could as they continued to move down the street. Sometimes I lost their sound, but then barely saw their forms moving past drain openings in the road, so I followed along the best I could until we were no longer in a busy section of the city. I could clearly hear the spat happening below me now, and could tell they were brothers since they poked fun at one another just like Nathaniel and I did constantly.

It saddened me to think they had to live in the sewer. We had a large homeless population within New York and it always upset me to think there were so many that had nothing when I had way more than needed. I realized I still had my sandwich from lunch earlier. Maybe they were hungry? I ran ahead as silently as I could and tried to plot where they'd pass a rain water run off point. I didn't want to scare them off by being loud, a lot of people were ashamed in their predicament and would probably run off. I just needed to get near them and show myself.

Good for me I was an 'experienced' younger sister, and thus had lots of practice in sneaking around.

I judged right and could still hear the boys' voices coming towards me. I laid down on the sidewalk and poked my face towards the opening just as they were about to pass.

"Why hello there, boys!" I said enthusiastically as I put a big smile on my face and peered through the opening.

I chuckled at the memory of our first meeting as I wiped off my hands and pulled my long black hair into a ponytail, then into a knot; if there was one thing I learned the hard way it was to not have a lot of loose hair bouncing around while you're walking through a sewer.

Minutes passed by as I walk slowly on the elevated concrete above the water, using my flashlight to sweep back and forth along the area so as not to take any wrong turns or have a misstep. Nervousness began to rise from the pit of my stomach, and my dinner lurched slightly at the anxiety I felt towards my coming reunion. It had been eight years since I had left New York to attend college, and though I had meant to visit, it just never panned out the way I wanted. I kept in touch with everyone as best I could while I was away, but it never made it any better that I wasn't here.

Even living abroad it always felt like a piece of me was missing, that no matter who I met, dated, or hung out with it just never felt quite right. Every time I would remember fondly my times with the brothers and their father it always brought a smile to my face and warmed my heart.

I thought the four would surely run away as they were so afraid of being seen. Sure, they were different, but so was I. Mine was not as physically obvious as theirs were of course, and at first I was kind of weirded out, but just exchanging words for a few moments I realized they were good guys. They brought me down and introduced me to their father, who was not pleased at all at first of our chance encounter, but even he warmed up after time passed.

What went from a pretty lonely childhood blossomed into a wholly different me. I did better in school, didn't get into trouble so much, and generally flipped my whole attitude around because I finally knew people who accepted me for who I was, not who I was related to or the size of my parents' bank account. Hell, it was because of them that I realized that I wanted to have a career and life, and for that I owed them.

I could hear the water gently moving by as I made my way further into the tunnels. I glanced up through the grates every so often to make sure I was on the right track and picked up my pace slightly. Not too much longer now. I ran over the directions in my head to make sure I was going the right way and began to look for the one particular pipe. Oh wait, there it is over there.

I reached up and rested my hand on the cool metal of the curved pipe hidden somewhat in the wall. Just glancing and it looked like all the other pipes that ran underground here, but this one had a small section removed and replaced with a slightly different pipe. Just enough change in detail for an expectant eye to pick up.

Welp…There's no turning back now I guess. Not that I'd really do that anyway.

I pulled slightly on the curved metal and stood back as a large section of wall shifted and opened up, allowing me access to what was beyond. I stepped in quickly before the wall closed back, the hiss of it sealing behind me instantly clearing the air of the typical foul stench outside. It was quite pleasant and warm in here, unlike how it always used to be. That brainiac finally figured out how to do it…I'll have to bug him about it later.

The sound of an unexpected guest definitely caught the attention of the lair's inhabitants. They were all seated at the table eating dinner when the sound of my entrance alerted them to an intruder. Three of the four inhabitants quickly jumped up and grabbed their weapon of choice. The fourth quietly continued eating his slice of pizza as he smiled and put his feet up on one of his brother's now empty chairs.

I smiled brightly at my friends, my turtles.

"Why hello there, boys."