"Mikey! That cat of yours has been usin' my bed for a scratchin' post! If don't keep Klunk outta my room…"
"Aw, c'mon Raph. She's just behaving the way all cat's do- it's an instinct to scratch the hothead's stuff!"
"Maybe, but if you don't keep her outta my room, I'm gonna introduce little miss instinct to your Comic books!"Raphael growled at Michaelangelo, who took the hint and wandered off to find his cat.
"Good morning, my sons" Master Splinter entered the room.
"Morning, sensei", the three turtles said in unison.
"Leonardo, it seems we are running out of some items in the kitchen. When you visit Miss O'neill, please ask her to take a list for us." Leo nodded, returning to his breakfast, a bowl of plain rice. Donatello, who sat next to him, poured a bowl of cereal for himself.
"Hey, Klunk! C'mere, Klunk! Where are ya, kitty? Heeeere kittykittykitty!"
"Yo, BONEHEAD! Ninja's are supposed to be SILENT!"
"Raphael." Splinter looked once at the turtle. "I understand your annoyance with your brother, but I might point out that you are also creating a disturbance to this otherwise peaceful morning."
"Ehh, sorry sensei- Yowch!" At that moment, Klunk, the young cat that Mikey had rescued on Christmas eve, was climbing slowly up Raphael's leg with sharp little claws.
"Whaddya want, pipsqueak?" he growled as she finally reached his lap. Klunk purred satisfactorily, and brushed up against the turtle's shell. Donatello, after enjoying Raph wince at the kitten kneading his leg with needlepaws, pushed his bowl away. Klunk sniffed, suddenly alert, then leapt onto the table.
"Come on, Klunk." Don said warmly, his kindhearted nature showing exclusively. Yet, the others noticed a worried expression on their sensible brother's face. Don stroked the cat's back, as Klunk helped herself to his cereal milk. "Guys…" He looked up, surprisingly with a shamefaced expression. "Tell me, has klunk been behaving a little odd lately, in your opinions?"
Leonardo shrugged. "Not that I know of. She acts like a normal cat to me, for all we know about them."
Raph snorted. "Pheh. Steals milk, gets in your face while your tryin' to sleep, tears up the furniture, and uses her masters as scratching posts. Sounds normal to me."
"No, that's not really what I mean. See.." Donatello paused. "Klunk got into something…potentially dangerous – in the lab yesterday. It was the…the antimutigen virus that Leatherhead and I were duplicating. I have no idea what it's going to do to her…I mean, she ingested it. I performed the necessary steps to get it out of her system, but because the virus works so fast, I'm afraid it might already have entered her bloodstream."
"What does this mean, my son?" Splinter said, a concerned look across his furry face.
"It means," Donatello sighed gravely, "That this accident may or may not cost Klunk her life. I'm concerned simply because she isn't a mutant. The serum is beneficial to mutated creatures, but to normal animals, I'm not sure. It all depends if her blood doesn't –can't- fight the virus. If the virus is truly dangerous to unmutated creatures, her immune system could fail and the virus would attack the wrong cells.
Leo sat up straighter. "So…is there a chance the antimutigen could just..not affect her?"
"Yes…but I'm not sure what the odds are in that. You know how much it takes out of a mutant to turn back into its original state? In order to get rid of such an aggressive virus, the treatment itself is pretty invasive. I should know...I developed it." Donatello's guilt-ridden gaze shifted to the floor.
"Kluuuunk! Where are you?" Michaelangelo's voice came closer.
"Curiosity kills the cat, eh…" said Raph gruffly, but he no longer looked annoyed at the purring creature that was now nipping playfully at his green fingers. "How are we gonna break this to Mikey?"
"I'm not sure I should tell Mikey just yet. He's…probably going to take it pretty hard."
Master Splinter was silent, looked very concerned. He spoke now, calmly, but with a note of sadness in his tone. "Perhaps, it is better for you brother to be prepared for this upheaval. We do not know what may happen to his pet, but if the worst should happen, at least his grief may be balanced with preparation of the mind."
Donatello sighed, and leaned over to stroke Klunk. "I hope he'll forgive me- I'll do everything I can to make sure she's okay…I just don't know what's going to happen."
"Everyone must learn the lesson of death eventually, my son. I do not blame you for what happened, nor will your brother. But whatever happens, this may be a time for michaelangelo to mature – surely, there is nothing stronger than witnessing death, to teach one the art of solemnity."
Raph grunted, looking away from the table. "If this is what it takes, I'm not sure I wanna see a serious Mikey."