Forever Family

Chapter 1: Two Wishes

A/N: New year, new semester, new story! Yep, I'm back. However, I must warn you that I may not post as often as I did last semester. The reason for this is because of my homework load and the fact that I have to do a lot of papers. Ah, the joys of college life! No, seriously, I love college. It's just that you guys will have to be patient with me on this. I hope to post on Tuesdays, unless I have a paper due on Thursday. If that's the case, I may not post until Thursday or Tuesday of the following week. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story.

Summary: Five orphans' lives are changed when they meet the Turtles, but can they protect one of their own from Karai's clutches?

Disclaimer: I don't own the Turtles. They are owned by Mirage Studios. I do own the characters not related to the Turtles universe. All flames will be cut up by Leo's katanas, so don't even think about it!

"Guys, hurry!" fifteen-year-old Lisa called to her friends. "We need to go to the store to get these items for Mrs. Jenner, or she'll punish us!"

"Lisa, you worry too much," nine-year-old Kaylee laughed. "We'll be fine. It won't take us long to get the stuff. I just like looking at the toys." She was looking in the window of a toy store, not far from the grocery store.

"Yo, Kay, check this out!" thirteen-year-old Destiny exclaimed. "It's cool!"

"Wow!" Kaylee breathed as she looked at the doll Destiny had spotted. "It's beautiful!"

"I wish we could buy it," eleven-year-old Mariel said wistfully.

"Guys, it's getting dark," seven-year-old Kaia said fearfully. "The gangs might come out and get us." She shivered at the very thought.

"Kai, chill out," Kaylee said. "No one's gonna get us."

"Well, if they don't, Mrs. Jenner will," Lisa warned them. "We need to get going."

Kaylee grumbled that Lisa was a party pooper, and Destiny rolled her eyes. Mariel just sighed and followed Lisa, Kaia, Kaylee, and Destiny.

Although these five girls were very different, they all had one thing in common: They were all orphans. Despite their very different personalities, they all had a very strong bond. No one could tear them apart, and they had already started calling themselves sisters because they were so close.

Lisa was the perfectionist of the group. She had red hair and green eyes that turned dark when she got angry. She always wanted to follow orders and do well in school. She also felt the need to protect the others from harm.

Kaia was the shy one of the group. She had black hair and almond-shaped eyes. She was kind of quiet and sometimes afraid of things. Kaia loved to draw and wanted to be an artist when she grew up. She also loved flowers and wished for a garden of her own. She hated violence and was frightened that something would happen to her or her sisters.

Kaylee was the prankster of the group. She had blond hair and blue eyes that twinkled when she was involved in a prank. She was energetic and loved to watch cartoons and read comic books. Her favorite superheroes were the Justice Force, but the orphanage didn't have those comic books, or any good comic books. She knew about the Justice Force from the commercials on TV and the show that they had.

Destiny was the tough one of the group. She was African-American with dark eyes and hair. She always looked out for her sisters and never let anyone mess with them. She loved to watch sports, especially wrestling. She also loved to play basketball and softball.

Mariel was the intelligent one of the group. She loved to read and wanted to be a doctor when she grew up. If her sisters got into a fight, Mariel would always break it up. She was the one who loved peace and never condoned violence. She also loved science and technology, although she wasn't very skilled at computers yet.

Soon, the girls arrived at Goldfine's Grocery Store. They knew that Mr. and Mrs. Goldfine would help them out. That was how nice they were.

"Do you girls need help?" Mrs. Goldfine asked kindly.

"Not right now, thank you," Lisa said politely.

"Oh, all right," Mrs. Goldfine said. "I'll be at the counter if you need me."

"Okay, thanks," Lisa said with a smile. Then she turned to the other girls. "Okay, we need to spread out to find this stuff. Kaylee, you get the cereal. Mariel, get the cake mix. Kaia, go to the produce section and get the fruit. Destiny, you get the soup. I'll get the bread. We'll meet by the cash register."

"Yes, sir!" Kaylee said with a salute. Destiny rolled her eyes, but Mariel and Kaia just nodded. Then they spread out to get the groceries.

It didn't take long for four of the girls to get their items that they needed. Now, all they had to do was wait for Kaylee. After about ten minutes, Kaylee arrived with the cereal.

"Where have you been?" Lisa demanded. "We've been waiting for you."

"I was just looking at the other cereals and I saw a Justice Force spoon inside one of the boxes," Kaylee answered. "I wish I could get that cereal so I'd have the spoon."

"Well, let's hurry up," Lisa ordered. "We have to get this stuff back to the orphanage."

Mrs. Goldfine rang up their purchases and gave them the total. Lisa reached into her pocket and gave Mrs. Goldfine the money that Mrs. Jenner had given her. Mrs. Goldfine gave Lisa the change and wished them all a nice evening. Mr. Goldfine asked them if they needed help with the bags.

"No, thank you," Lisa said politely. "We can manage them."

"Okay," Mr. Goldfine said. "Have a safe trip home."

The girls made their way back to the orphanage, passing the Second Time Around antique shop. Kaylee stopped and looked at a bookshelf displayed in the corner. She imagined that it was hers and that she had all her comic books stored in it.

"Kaylee, come on!" Lisa admonished. "We have to hurry back!"

"But look at this bookshelf," Kaylee said. "If I had the money, I'd buy it to store my comic books in."

"Kaylee, you don't own any comic books," Destiny pointed out.

"I know, but if I did, I'd store them in there," Kaylee replied.

"Okay, enough stalling," Lisa said firmly. "Let's get back before we're grounded to our rooms."

"Let's cut through this alley," Kaylee suggested. "It'll save us some time."

"It's too dark," whimpered Kaia. "I don't like the dark."

"Kaia, relax," said Kaylee. "It's just a shortcut. Besides, you're too old to be afraid of the dark."

"This comin' from someone who sleeps with a teddy bear," teased Destiny.

"Hey, that bear was left with me after my mom abandoned me," pointed out Kaylee. "I'm not scared of anything." She started to walk into the alley, and the others followed her.

Suddenly, a group of men appeared in front of them. The leader had blue hair and a tattoo of a purple dragon on his arm. He was known as Dragon Face.

"Aww, look, boys," he sneered. "Some girls have gotten lost. What's the matter, kiddies? Are you tryin' to find your mommy?"

"Get lost!" snapped Lisa. "We're trying to get back to the orphanage. Mrs. Jenner sent us to get some groceries." Although her tone was firm, she did feel a little afraid of these men.

"How touching," said Dragon Face mockingly. "You know, you don't have to go back to that awful place, sweetheart. Me and the boys would love to have you join our family."

"We'd rather step in quicksand!" spit back Destiny.

"Well, that's a shame," said Dragon Face. "I guess if you're not with us, you're against us." He and the others were closing in on the girls. There was nowhere to run. What were they going to do?

"Hey, why don't you pick on someone your own size?" said a voice above them. The Dragons looked up to see four figures silhouetted on the roof, their weapons drawn. The figures leaped down and advanced toward the Dragons. The girls watched in amazement as the four mysterious figures began to fight with the Dragons. One of them had sharp swords that sliced through the air gracefully. Another had twin sais that flashed dangerously in the moonlight. The third figure had a bo staff that ricocheted off of one of the Dragons' heads, while a fourth figure fought with nunchucks that spun so fast they were a blur.

After the fight was over, the Dragons fled. Then the figure wielding the swords approached the girls. They saw that he wore a blue bandana around his head. He sheathed his swords, while the others put their weapons away.

"Who are you guys?" Lisa asked them.

"We're your knights in shining armor!" the orange-banded figure piped up.

"I'm Leonardo," the blue-banded figure said. "My brothers call me Leo for short. These are my brothers."

"I'm Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey," the orange-banded one said.

"My name's Donatello, Don or Donnie for short," the purple-banded figure added.

"I'm Raphael, but everyone calls me Raph," the red-banded figure chimed in.

"Why don't you come into the light?" Mariel inquired.

"Because we're not normal, and we're afraid you might be frightened of our appearance," Leo answered.

"We don't judge people based on appearances," Lisa declared. "By the way, I'm Lisa. These are my friends." Then each of the other girls introduced themselves to the figures.

"If you're really the good guys, prove it," Destiny ordered. "Show yourselves."

The four of them exchanged a look and did as she asked. The girls got a glimpse of four turtles who had two toes and three fingers on their hands. When the girls saw this, they didn't scream or get scared. Instead, they looked surprised. This was something the Turtles had never seen before.

"Awesome!" squealed Kaylee. "Four talking turtles! This is something you'd see in the comics!"

"You read comics?" Mikey asked excitedly.

"A little," answered Kaylee. "The orphanage doesn't carry The Justice Force comic books though. I think that stinks."

"You can always borrow mine if you want," offered Mikey.

"This isn't the time for that," said Lisa firmly. "We need to get these groceries to Mrs. Jenner. She's probably furious that we haven't come back."

"We'll escort you," offered Leo. "That way, if anyone else threatens you, we'll be there to stop them."

"Thanks, Leo, but we'll be fine now," said Lisa politely.

"You weren't fine when the Purple Dragons were attackin' ya," pointed out Raphael.

"Who asked you?" retorted Destiny.

"I think they should go with us," Mariel suggested. "It might be a good idea."

"Mariel, stay out of this!" Lisa ordered. "We'll be fine."

"No, we won't!" Kaylee contradicted. "We need their help!"

"Well, if you hadn't suggested we go down the alley, none of this would have happened!" Lisa chastised.

Kaia looked at her friends fighting and her eyes filled with tears. She hated to see anyone fight like that. Then, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Leo looking at her gently.

"Don't cry, Kaia," the Turtle in blue said gently. "They'll work it out. My brothers and I fight all the time, but we make it up in the end."

"I don't like seeing my sisters fight," Kaia whimpered. "It makes me sad."

"You should tell your sisters to stop," Leo urged. "Do you want us to go with you?"

"Yes, I do," Kaia answered.

"Then, you should tell them what you've decided," Leo urged her. "It can't hurt."

So Kaia went to her sisters and said, "Stop fighting! I want the Turtles to go with us. We'll be safe with them. Please don't fight. You know I don't like it."

Lisa was a little surprised at Kaia's outburst. Usually, Mariel was the one to break up the fights. "Okay, Kaia," she said with a sigh. They can go with us. Now, we'd better hurry. We're late enough as it is."

"Okay, but before we go, we need you to promise that you won't tell anyone about us," Leo said. "Can you do this?"

"Yes, we can," Lisa replied. "At least, I know four of us can. Kaylee has a hard time keeping secrets."

"I can keep this a secret," Kaylee protested. "I won't say a word about this."

"I believe you," Leo said. "Now, you guys can walk while we go by the rooftops. That way, we can make sure no one will attack you."

The girls agreed to this and picked up the bags. Luckily, nothing had fallen out or had gotten damaged in any way. Then they set out with the Turtles jumping the rooftops. The girls could hear Mikey challenging his brothers to a race, and it made them smile. They knew that the Turtles loved each other as any brothers could, and in that moment, they, too wished that they had brothers to tease them like Mikey teased his brothers.

When they reached the orphanage, they saw that the lights were on in the windows, meaning that Mrs. Jenner was waiting for them. As they turned to go inside, Kaia looked up at the rooftop of the building across from the orphanage. There were the Turtles, looking down at her. She waved to Leo and he waved back. She knew she probably wouldn't see him again, and that made her sad.

Mrs. Jenner was sitting in her chair when the girls came in. "Where have you been?" she demanded. "I've been waiting here for twenty minutes. What took you so long?"

"We were attacked by some Purple Dragons," answered Lisa.

"Well, it doesn't look as though you've been hurt," said Mrs. Jenner. "How did you escape?"

"The police came, and the Dragons fled," lied Destiny.

"Well, you're lucky the police were there to help you," admonished Mrs. Jenner. "How did they approach you? Did they corner you in the street?"

"No, they didn't," answered Kaylee. "They met us in the alley. It was my idea that we take a shortcut to get back here."

Mrs. Jenner was very angry. "Kaylee, how many times have I told you never to go down an alley?" she shouted. "How dare you disobey me? That's ten demerits for all of you. You are confined to your rooms until further notice. You are only allowed out of them to go to the bathroom, to do your chores, and to go to school. Your meals will be brought up to you. Now, go!"

"What about the groceries?" asked Mariel meekly.

"I'll handle them," said Mrs. Jenner. "Now, march!"

The girls did as they were told. Destiny shot Kaylee a mean glare before she followed Lisa into the room they shared, while Mariel gave Kaylee a sympathetic look before going into the room she shared with a girl named Naomi. Kaia wasn't mad at Kaylee at all. On the contrary, if Kaylee hadn't suggested that they go into the alley, they never would've met the Turtles. She even expressed this thought to Kaylee, hoping to cheer her up.

"Leave me alone, Kaia," Kaylee snapped. "I'm nothing but an idiot!" She changed into her pajamas and settled down to sleep.

Kaia also got into bed, but she couldn't sleep. She went to the window and looked out, hoping to see the Turtles looking at her. Of course, they weren't there. Then she saw a shooting star go across the sky. She closed her eyes and said, "I wish that I could see the Turtles again and that my friends and I can become sisters together." Then she got into bed and went to sleep, not knowing that her two wishes would come true.

A/N: Well, that's it for this chapter. What did you think? I'll try to have the second chapter up as soon as I get it written. Please read and review. Did anyone get anything Turtles related for Christmas? I did. I received the Leonardo Hallmark Christmas ornament from my mom and the Combat Warriors Leonardo figurine from my boyfriend. Remember to review. Catch ya later!