Soulcatcher
part 1

". . . and she's just not the same," April concluded, eyes searching Master Splinter's, wanting him to understand. With a sigh she added, "It's hard to explain. She was hurting, really hurting, over the loss of her mother. It's too soon for her to have just buried those emotions."

When she paused to take a sip of her tea, the aged ninja said, "Perhaps she is seeing someone, a therapist possibly. Some professional who is helping her through this emotional time."

April looked into her cup and frowned. "That's just it, if she were seeing someone, she'd have told me. Brittany chatters; it can be annoying but my customers seem to love it. My sales have gone up since I hired her to help around the shop on the weekends. None of her private business is ever actually private."

Leonardo sat near them at the table, silent yet observant. He had sensed April's need to talk almost as soon as she'd entered the lair. That was confirmed when, having dropped off the supplies that Don had requested, she'd accepted an offer of tea from Master Splinter. It was late afternoon on a Saturday, a time that was usually busy in her antique shop. She should have been in a hurry to leave.

"Other than her mother's death, has anything unusual happened to Brittany?" Leo asked, growing curious about April's new assistant. The turtles had seen her but had avoided any interaction, staying away from April's shop on the days the new girl was working.

April started to shake her head but then stopped, her brows knitting in thought. "Actually yes, now that I think of it. She walks from her apartment to my shop; it's not far and there are usually other people around. A couple of weeks ago she was mugged. I hadn't realized it before now, but that's when she began acting strange. She wouldn't have told me about the incident except that I noticed her odd behavior and asked if something had happened."

"Was she hurt?" Leo asked.

"No," April answered. "Oddly enough, the mugger didn't take anything, not even her pocketbook. She said he grabbed her, she screamed, and he let her go. Even when Brittany was telling me of the incident she didn't sound as animated as she usually is."

"Two traumatic events occurring with weeks of each other could easily cause someone to become withdrawn," Master Splinter said. "Your Brittany may be questioning her own mortality. Such thoughts could have a profoundly sobering effect upon a young person."

"Even if that were the case, Brittany wouldn't be like that all of the time," April insisted. "There should be moments when an old flash of her vibrant personality still shines through. It's almost as though she has no feelings at all anymore." With a sigh, she said, "I told you it doesn't make sense."

Leo drained his cup, searching his memory for why April's story sounded familiar to him. In a second he had it.

"I heard two similar reports about muggings just like that, where nothing was taken," Leo said. "They were only sound bites on the evening news, but they occurred within weeks of each other. Usually when someone embraces a life of crime, they escalate, they learn from past mistakes and become more violent."

"It's probably not the same person then," April responded. "Maybe a gang initiation? Let's hope they continue to be so inept, that way they'll be caught faster."

"Being apprehended by the authorities would certainly be the best way to dissuade them from continuing down a path of crime," Master Splinter said sagely. "More tea, Miss O'Neil?"

"Thank you Master Splinter, but I'd best not," April said. "It's near closing time and I've left Brittany by herself in the shop long enough as it is."

She rose from her seat and reached for her empty cup but Leo set his hand atop it first. "I'll take care of it, April. Thanks again for running that stuff over to Don, he could have gone to your place later."

"It was no problem. Besides, by the time he pulled his head out of whatever he's working on, it would have been late and I'd rather sleep than wait up half the night for him," April said with a laugh.

Leo had politely risen when April did. "May I give you a lift back to your shop?" he asked.

"No, I'd rather walk and grab some fresh air," April said, "or at least what passes for fresh in this city. Don't worry, the muggings only happen after dark and that's not for a few hours."

"I hope the situation with your friend gets sorted out," Leo said as he walked April to the elevator. Raph was in the garage and would see her safely off.

"I do too," April said, pausing in the doorway. "The old Brittany was emotional but endearing. Now she just seems so . . . cold. She's not the people person that I hired and that's worrisome. I'm afraid that if she doesn't snap out of it I may have to let her go. Even the idea of doing that makes me sick, but every business decision I make has to be value added if I want to stay in business."

"You'll do what you can, you always do," Leo said warmly. "Let me know if I can help. How about my brothers and I start patrolling the area? We can try to catch that mugger or muggers. Maybe if Brittany knows he's off the streets it will help her heal."

"That's a great idea," April agreed enthusiastically. "I doubt the police have devoted manpower to that task; they're spread thin trying to keep up with other more violent crimes."

"Brittany probably knows that too," Leo said. "Worry over being attacked by the same guy might be part of her problem. People shouldn't have to deal with those types of concerns. We'll clean it up, leave it to us."

"Of that I have no doubt," April said with a smile as she stepped into the elevator. "Thanks Leo. Bye!"

Leo waited until the doors had closed before heading back to the kitchen. His father was indulging in another cup of tea which finished off the pot, so Leo washed that as well as the cups and saucers he and April had drunk from. Master Splinter was done before Leo completed that chore, so he accepted his father's dishes and cleaned those as well.

Leaving a now tidy kitchen, Leo moved on to Don's lab. An idea had formed as he washed up and he meant to follow through with that, his promise to April at the forefront of his mind.

Don was at a worktable when Leo entered his lab. The only part of the olive hued turtle that Leo could see was his body; Don's head and hands were buried inside a large metal box. Surrounding him on the table and floor were electronic components that Leo did not recognize, some of them the new things that April had brought over.

After a couple of minutes it became obvious that Don wasn't aware of Leo's presence. Although Donatello was a trained ninja, Leo didn't fault his brother for his lack of perception. Not only was Donny an extremely focused turtle when he was working, but at the moment he was making quite a lot of noise. The fact that Leo was the most naturally silent of the four siblings also had to be taken into account.

"Donny," Leo finally said, keeping his voice low.

Rather than responding, Don began banging on something inside the cabinet. With a frown, Leo tried again, this time louder. "Donny!"

Leo grimaced as Don jerked upright, hitting his head in the process.

"Ow!" Don exclaimed, emerging from the cabinet and rubbing his bald dome. "Oh, hey Leo. Were you standing there long?"

"A few minutes. I didn't mean to startle you but you didn't hear me the first time. I'd have waited, but from the looks of things you might have been camped out in there for a while," Leo said.

Don's expression turned sheepish. "Thanks for not lecturing me on being unaware of my surroundings," he said.

"I wouldn't dream of doing that to you inside your own lab," Leo said, and then added humorously, "Not when there are so many sharp objects you could throw at me."

Chuckling, Don asked, "Was there something you needed?"

"You still have a security camera mounted inside April's shop, don't you?" Leo enquired.

"Yep," Don answered. "Is April having a problem? Why didn't she tell me about it?"

"No problems," Leo said, following his brother to the area that held his computer console array. "She's concerned about Brittany, her new employee. April says the girl has been behaving oddly since being mugged a couple of weeks ago."

"Odd how?" Don asked, his fingers flying over one of his keyboards. A console flickered to life and then as the image on it sharpened, the brothers could see the interior of April's shop.

"According to April, the girl is usually quite vivacious," Leo said, his eyes on the screen. "She suffered the loss of her mother a few weeks ago and has been sad about it, but since the mugging she hasn't even been displaying that emotion."

The viewing lens on the camera afforded them a wide angle look at the interior of April's shop. They could see Brittany, a slight girl with short blond hair, at the counter ringing up a customer's purchase.

Throughout the entire exchange, Brittany didn't smile even once. Her face seemed frozen, lacking the smallest sign of emotion or of normal courtesy. It was very off-putting to watch and Leo could only imagine how her customer felt.

April arrived as the customer was leaving. She stopped to speak to him, her smile warm and her entire manner welcoming. He nodded to acknowledge something she said and then before leaving, cast a frown in Brittany's direction, which went unnoticed by the girl.

"I can see what April meant when she told you Brittany is behaving oddly," Don said, watching as April walked over to the counter to speak to her employee. "I tuned in a few times when April first hired her and she was very different. If April hadn't told me that Brittany was an only child, I would have said this was a twin. No one's personality changes that much."

"It had to have been something about that mugging that caused this," Leo said.

April said a few words to Brittany, sending her scurrying off towards the back storage room. Once the girl was out of sight, the red head turned to look up at the camera. Somehow she had sensed that the turtles were watching and seeing the red light on confirmed that for her.

With an exaggerated shrug, April mouthed the words, "Do you see what I mean?"

"Yes April, we do," Leo replied aloud, though she couldn't see or hear him. "I'll keep my promise."

"What promise was that?" Don asked, glancing up at his brother.

"To try and catch the guy who mugged Brittany. I think him or a group just like him, have been responsible for similar muggings," Leo said.

"I saw those news reports," Don said. "It would be good to get them off the streets."

Leo squeezed Don's shoulder in acknowledgment before grimacing slightly. "I only hope that helps," he told the genius. "From the looks of things, it might not be enough."

Their eyes were drawn back to the screen as Brittany once more came into view. As she set to work filling empty spaces on the shelves, more customers arrived. When Brittany turned to greet them her expression didn't change, remaining frozen and unemotional. And just a little scary.

"Not nearly enough," Leo murmured.

"Should we be worried about April?" Don asked, concern in his voice.

"I would have said no before seeing this," Leo said. "Now I'm not so sure. I doubt if we need to warn her though, she's already anxious about the situation. She won't be taken by surprise."

"I don't like it," Don said flatly, voicing the protective feeling they all had for their big sis.

"Neither do I," Leo replied. He watched as the couple Brittany was waiting on fled from the shop without looking at anything.

His voice low, Leo repeated, "Neither do I."

TBC….