Bold is thought.

Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT.

Warning: Blood (especially in this chapter), Language, and an OC.

Okay, this is the first time that I've ever tried to incorporate an Original Character in one of my fanfics, hope you guys like her!

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Black heeled feet clicked against hard gray metal as a pale white woman with long blond hair walked down a fluorescent-lighted, little known hallway in Area 51. This woman was Dr. Arianna Lawson, and she was about to do something that no other scientist under Agent Bishop had done. She was going to free some of his test subjects. They weren't officially Agent Bishop's, she reminded herself. He probably didn't even know what the geneticists were doing to those four turtles. Arianna turned a corner, nervously buttoning the buttons on her white lab coat as she walked to Lab 12- the animal testing lab. She was never as aware of how itchy her plain white buttoned-down shirt and black pants were then at this moment. Scientists and geneticists filed past her, bustling with fresh gossip about experiments and discoveries.

The labs in this section had not been upgraded like the alien weapons section, and were not automatic. Arianna grasped the light gray, metal handle and swallowed a gulp of air, turning her head to the right and left before walking in. She allowed a sigh to pass through her lips as she looked around at the dimly lit gray room that held all of the animals in their dirty cages or jars. Tables and lab chairs reflected metal and blood samples in shiny glass tubes. They don't deserve this… Arianna thought to herself, feeling a pang of guilt for her part in all of this. She had used the animals mercilessly for the past couple of years to test experimental treatments. She had even lost her temper a few times and had beaten up a few of them. The creatures in these cages were not animals…not really. Most of them knew how to speak English and scream when pain was inflicted on them. The speakers were always the first to go because they wouldn't stop begging for mercy.

Arianna could not free all of them, despite how much she wanted too. The doctor forced herself to focus on the glass jar of turtles on one of the highest shelves in the back of the small room. These four turtles still had the chance to live, unlike their predecessors. The scientists had gotten the turtles about a week ago via a shipment from turtle poachers. Their container was labeled for chemical experiments; the experiments revolving around the injection of different special genes. Arianna looked up at the jar and reached up to grab it when she noticed that one turtle was missing. Only three? But there were four, I'm sure! Arianna thought as her heart sunk. One of them could already be dead, she thought gravely. The doctor was about to grab the jar anyway and run when the door to the lab opened right behind her. Thinking quickly, Arianna ducked behind a cage full of dogs in a shadowy corner that was near to the shelf that held the turtles. Curse words flowed quickly through her head as the scientists entered the room, holding a squirming animal in their coldly gloved hands. Relief flowed in her chest as she saw that the animal they were holding was the missing baby turtle- the olive green one.

"Thank god," Arianna quietly muttered under her breath as the scientists left the room with an intelligent animal screaming and begging in its cage.

She took the container from the shelf, looking at the turtles stacked on top of one another in the cramped jar. Turning around and walked quickly but calmly towards the exit, she grabbed a paper sack that one of the scientists had left there and put the turtle jar inside. Arianna opened the door to the hallway and looked to her left and right again. The fluorescent lights of the hallway made the hallway seem like heaven, disguising its internal hell for the experiments trapped in jars and cages. Arianna exited the lab and walked towards the hangar of the base- where all the cars and helicopters were. Her shoulders were tense from both stress and worry that she would be caught. She knew the price of breaking rules in Agent Bishop's Area 51. You would no longer be the scientist, but the experiment that the scientists play with. Arianna saw people pass her, even knock into her, but she did not scream and run like she wanted too.

They probably haven't even noticed yet… Arianna thought to herself as yet another geneticists bumped into her absentmindedly. She managed to get into the hangar without getting shot by one of the trigger happy commandos that Agent Bishop loved to put everywhere. The hangar was all metal with red lights that beat down on her in a way that was similar to the florescent lights. Arianna calmly walked towards a jeep that was parked near to the open doorway of the hangar. She was glad that she had chosen this time to perform the heist, knowing that the doors remained open all day so that the scientists out in the field could return at any time.

"Where are you going, Doctor Lawson?" a commando asked from a position right next to Arianna.

She gave a small jolt, surprised by how quickly the soldier had arrived.

Arianna managed to cover up her visible nervousness with a cough and a smile, replying, "Oh, I heard one of the scientists in the field got a sprained ankle. He needs medical assistance so I was ordered by Agent Bishop to assist him."

The name "Agent Bishop" worked like a charm, the commando immediately backing up with a grunt and moving away. She was about to get into the car when she realized that she did not have the key. Turning around, Arianna went towards a metal cabinet that had a numerical padlock on it. Right after her internship as a doctor at a local hospital and on her first day as the doctor in Area 51, she had been given the code to the key cabinet. This was to make her more efficient to getting to injured scientists in the field. Arianna typed in the numerical password with pale, graceful hands and opened the door silently.

The jeep's key felt cold in her hands as she closed the door, turning and strolling towards the jeep. She thought about the commando and was almost unable to suppress a chuckle and how scared he had been of their commander's name. No other bothered anyone with a mission from Agent Bishop- it was too dangerous. She was confident that she was going to get away from this base with the turtles without any more trouble when the alarm started to blare. Arianna could not afford to wait and see if the alarm was a false alarm as she jumped into the jeep and turned it on. She threw the jar onto the other seat with maybe too much force as she jammed the key into the ignition and turned it on. The car first jerked forward before speeding off with a cry of pain.

Arianna could hear cursing and even the firing of lasers that nearly hit her tires. She couldn't help but curse herself as she stomped her feet on the gas pedal angrily. The only thing that was calming was the churring coming from the jar next to her. She laughed, removing one hand from the steering wheel to pet the top of the jar. Arianna could still hear the blazing of alarms behind her, but she did not see anything so she assumed that she and the turtles were alright. They were alright; they were safer then they had ever been before with her. What Arianna did not notice was the blinking little dot on the bottom of the car. It was the blinking dot that would bring all of the scientists upon her eventually.

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Arianna breathed in a large gulp of air as she stared out into the busy New York streets from her place on a stone balcony. The air seemed to circle around her like pet dogs to their master, lifting her long, blond hair as she gave a laugh. Her tight, pink, tank top clung to her torso as she stared out at the sight below her like an innocent spectator waiting for something amazing. She had been living in New York City for several months now with a new identity and the occupation of a local painter. Arianna knew she could never go back to being the one thing that she loved, but she could not risk being caught. She had stolen one of the prized experiments and, as such, she was liable to die if she was ever caught. The former doctor gave a calming sigh, her blue jeans and bare feet not making any noise as she turned around to head inside. The steel french doors with light purple drapery closed with the loud clink of keys as Arianna closed the doors to the outside.

Her apartment was pretty, but very spartan in appearance. There was barely anything in her whole apartment other than a box of pizza, a table with a fish tank on it, a few canvases, and a bed. Arianna did not own any fish, but kept the turtles she had freed in there. When she had first arrived in New York City, she had thought about selling them to a local pet store. However, Arianna had unknowingly become too attracted to the four little babies and found herself unable to part with the cute turtles. She walked over to the fish tank, where the four turtles were all snuggling together, and couldn't help wanting to pick them up and hug them. Arianna did not, though, because they seemed to content to be by themselves. She walked into her light pink-colored bedroom and thought about how she reached this point after her escape from the base with the guys.

After she had escaped, she had driven around for a bit as she tried to figure out what to do with her life. Arianna tried many jobs, including being a nursery director, but she did not find any passion in it. Not any passion like she had had with being a doctor, anyway. That had changed when she started to paint, though. Her paintings had been badly received when she first tried to sell them, but as she got better they sold for a bit more. The new income from her artwork, along with the saved money from being a doctor, allowed her to move from her car to a small apartment in New York City. It was not the best apartment in New York City, being located in one of the poorer sections, but it was fine for Arianna. Here she was, now, and here was hopefully where she would stay.

Arianna slipped on a pair of thin socks before slipping on a pair of black converse. She needed to go and get some actual turtle food, she told herself, not the small bits of pizza she had been serving them ever since they had moved. With her converse on, she moved towards the kitchen, grabbing the jar that the turtles had been in before from a shelf in the empty cabinet next to the steel refrigerator. Arianna wanted to show her little friends more of their new home city then they had seen over the past month. She also wanted to have the olive green turtle checked out to see if the scientists did something to him that day. Arianna hoped that they hadn't, but the animal testing scientists were mindless scoundrels who would kill a puppy and not cry so she was concerned. Gently putting her hand into the fish tank, she was pleasantly surprised when she felt the turtles willinging snuggling into her hand. Careful not to break the invisible bond of trust between herself and the turtles, Arianna picked up one turtle at a time and put them into the jar tenderly.

When all of the turtles were in the jar, Arianna closed the punctured lid with a squeak and walked towards the door with the jar in hand. She grabbed her apartment keys and opened the door to her apartment, closing it behind her as stealthily and quickly as a ninja in their prime. The dimly lit green-painted hallway reminded the artist of her former residence, provoking a small shiver as she walked towards the flight of stairs. It required a bit of energy for her to walk down the three flights of stairs that separated her from the disgusting lobby. There were always smokers in the lobby, despite the elderly owner's desire to keep the area a non-smoking zone. The horrible smell of smoke was only overcome by the sour smell of fresh yellow paint on the walls. They were trying to re-make the apartment complex to make it more welcoming for potential renters, Arianna could tell. It usually never worked, she also concluded sadly as she walked away from the apartment complex and towards a pet shop that was only a few feet away. Her journey was stopped short when a man pushed into her, saying the scariest words she had ever heard in her life.

"Run, Doctor Lawson."

Arianna started to run right after the man had told her too as she recognized the cold face of the man as being the scientist who was in charge of the turtles. If he knew where she was, then the commandos probably knew as well and she was going to die. Crashing into people, tears started to stream down her face. I don't want to die, I don't want to die! Arianna thought to herself frenziedly as she continued to duck in and out of crowds. She cursed herself for being so stupid as to steal the turtles from the lab. Arianna was near to wishing that she had never done it when several crashes littered the area. There were sounds of splashing, and the sounds of horrified screaming from her lungs.

Blood splashed in her face as the doctor realized that she had been shot and was now falling towards the concrete. Arianna fell hard, dying, with the turtles still in her arms. Dragging her mind away from frenzied thoughts of hatred at the turtles, the dying woman thought just about saving them again. She turned her head slightly towards a storm drain only; at most, a foot away from where the turtle jar was in her hands. Ignoring the sounds of screaming that were coming from the spectators around her, Arianna threw the glass jar at the storm drain. It shattered, and the turtles fell into the sewer below. Coughing up blood, all sound faded from the artist's ears as well as color and touch. The last thoughts that ran through her head were the same thoughts that were in her head when she had been driving away from the base.

"They will be safe."

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