- 6 -

Another First Encounter

Tyler unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped in, followed by his two mutant friends. Bebop and Rocksteady looked around the entrance hall feeling a bit awkward. It was the first time they'd been invited into someone's home, instead of just breaking in like normal. "So..." Bebop began, looking down the hall. "What now?'

Tyler opened the hall closet and tossed his backpack and coat onto the heap on the floor. "My sister won't be home for a little while longer, so we can do whatever we want till then." He closed the closet and looked back at them. "I could give you guys a tour if you want." he said.

"Ok sounds cool." Bebop said, and then suddenly did a double take. "Wait. you have a sistah?" he asked.

"Yeah." Tyler replied, smiling sheepishly. "I guess I forgot to tell you. Her name's Angie. She's a lot older than me, an adult. Has a job and everything; after our parents died she had to sort of take charge." He shrugged his shoulders. "She's cool, for a sister."

The two mutants looked a bit worried and nervous. "Uh...are you sure she's gonna be ok wit us bein here?" Rocksteady asked.

"Yeah, I told her you might be coming over today. She said it was fine."

"Did ya tell her we're mutants?" asked Bebop.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Of course I did. I wouldn't want her freaking out." Suddenly the boy's eyes lit up as he remembered. "Oh yeah, you should know, I told her that you're both bouncers at a nightclub downtown."

Rocksteady's eyes grew wide. "You WHAT!?" he exclaimed, feeling a bit angry.

Tyler backed off, looking a bit surprised. "Whoa, chill dude, it's ok. I couldn't tell her your super villains now could I? If I did she wouldn't let us hang out." he said.

"There's no way dat's gonna woik." Bebop responded. "She'll recognize us for sure."

"Yeah, and we don't know nuttin about being bouncers. What are we gonna say?" asked Rocksteady with worry.

Tyler smiled smugly, like a street hustler luring in a mark. "No problem. She definitely won't recognize you, I guarantee it. My sister doesn't watch the news much at all, or read the paper. She's always way too busy with work and real life; she leaves all that current events stuff to me. And she doesn't know much about the Turtles and all that, except what I've told her, so I know she hasn't heard of you two before." The boy reached out and patted Rocksteady on the arm reassuringly. "Don't worry. And as for your cover story, all you've got to say is that you're the security for the bar and you break up fights and keep the riff-raff out of the club and such. You've seen bouncers in movies and shows before right? Just talk about stuff like that."

"I don't know..." Bebop said reluctantly. "We aint really dat good at actin."

Tyler shook his head in frustration. "You'll be fine, trust me. She doesn't even know you so how would she tell if you're acting? And it's the only way we can make sure she'll let us keep hanging out. Come on, play along alright?" he pleaded.

Bebop and Rocksteady looked at each other for a minute, trying to decide what to do. Tyler held his breath until Bebop finally sighed and nodded, giving in. "Alright Tyler. We'll play along."

Rocksteady nodded and smiled again. "So we're bouncers? I guess dat's kinda cool."

"Yeah, real tough and macho!" Bebop said.

"And you two definitely have the bodies for it. Anyone would believe it if you told them." He turned back down towards the hallway. "And now that we've got that business out of the way, let me show you around." he said, motioning them down the hall.

The two mutants nodded and followed Tyler down the short corridor into the rest of the residence. It wasn't that big an apartment and the tour only took a couple of minutes. Tyler showed them the living room, with their modest sized TV, and the adjoining kitchen, were he offered the two mutants sodas from the fridge. Rocksteady chugged his soda in only a few moments, much to Tyler's amusement, while Bebop sipped his more slowly. They had already seen Tyler's room, and the boy quickly showed them the junk room, which had once been his parents' bedroom, and skipped past Angie's room, for obvious reasons. But it was the final room on the tour that finally caught the mutants' full attentions.

Tyler opened the door and stepped back, allowing his two guests an unobstructed view of the room within. The space before them was a fully furnished exercise room. Racks of dumbbell and barbell weights lined one side of the room next to a low rack lined with clean folded towels. Jump ropes and large rubber bands hung from a hook in the corner, near a large suspended punching bag. A stationary bike and an elliptical machine were in another corner, and in the center of the room was a bench press, a barbell fitted with two large weights set across the stands over the bench.

Rocksteady's eyes popped wide with surprise and delight, and almost seemed to sparkle a bit. "Woooow! Dis is really neat!" he exclaimed, sounding like a kid on Christmas day.

"Really sweet setup you got here, Tyler." Bebop added in admiration, glancing around the room.

Tyler shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it is. It's not really mine though." He stepped into the room, looking around with a thoughtful nostalgic look on his face. He smiled gently as he continued. "It was my dad's. He was a big health nut, and he set this whole room up over the course of a few years. After he died, Angie and I decided to just leave it the way it was. Because of the memories and everything."

Rocksteady and Bebop looked at the kid with concern. After a moment, Bebop put his hand on Tyler's shoulder. "So...how did yur parents die? If you don't mind me askin." he said.

"Plane crash." Tyler said simply. "They were on vacation, had to charter a private plane for where they were going. The weather got bad, and the pilot ended up crashing. That's it."

Rocksteady's face fell in sympathy. "Dat sucks. I'm sorry Tyler." He said truthfully, looking away awkwardly.

"Yeah, it really does." Tyler responded, nodding. "Sometimes I still cry about it, when I'm really missing them. Angie does too, but she doesn't like to admit it."

Rocksteady felt a pang in his heart and looked away, thinking of his own past. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Bebop and wondered if he was dwelling on the same thing too. Thinking of the things they had both lost and could never get back. The mutant warthog stood still, watching Tyler, his eyes unreadable behind his purple shades, the rest of his face giving away little.

Tyler shook his head and wiped the edge of his eyes. He took one more glance around the room and then turned back to his companions, smiling. "So now that you've had the tour, want to play some video games or watch a movie or something?" he asked.

"Yeah, dat sounds cool." Bebop replied.

Rocksteady started to nod himself, when a thought occurred to him. "Ooh, ooh!" he exclaimed excitedly, and then stopped, blushing with embarrassment as Tyler and Bebop both looked at him weird. "Um...would you mind if maybe I lifted some weights in here for a while?" He raised his hands in a cautionary gesture. "I mean, only if you're ok with it. I promise I won't break anyting, I'll be really careful."

Tyler thought about it for a second, and then smiled. "Ok, sure. No one else ever goes in there; my Dad would probably be happy to know its being used again." The smile dropped off his face and he gave the mutant a stern look. "Just be sure to put everything back when you're done." he said.

Rocksteady grinned excitedly. "Ok, cool. Tanks! Yeah, I promise I'll put everyting back." He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "I used ta lift weights back in high school. It was one of da only tings I ever enjoyed back den. Haven't had the chance to do it in ages."

Bebop smirked mischievously. "You definitely need it, buddy. You've really let yoirself go since you became a rhino." he said, poking Rocksteady in his gut with his index finger.

"Haha, very funny hog-breath." Rocksteady shot back jokingly, mock punching Bebop on the arm. Bebop stuck his tongue out childishly and backed up out of range of his friend's reach. Rocksteady stuck his tongue out right back and then stopped and looked down at himself. He smiled with embarrassment and pinched the paunch above his waist between his hands. "But yeah, I probably could lose some weight." he admitted.

Tyler laughed and nodded. "Well then, I guess you better get to exercising. Knock yourself out." he said.

Rocksteady nodded. "Ok. See ya guys later." he said as he turned and entered the weight room.

Rocksteady walked across the space and examined the barbell suspended above the bench press. The weights currently attached would be moderately heavy for a normal human, but a piece of cake for someone like Rocksteady to lift. He quickly removed the two weights from the ends of the bar and replaced them with the two largest weights from the rack by the wall. Satisfied with his choice, Rocksteady walked over to a small green striped chair positioned against the wall. He stripped off his bandolier, machete, hidden blaster holster, and finally his boots and brown pants, and laid all the items on top of the chair cushion, leaving himself standing in just his yellow T-shirt and blue and white striped boxer shorts. He reached into the back pocket of his pants and pulled out a purple paisley patterned bandanna. Folding the bandanna into a triangle, he tied it across his brow and over his head, leaving his ears sticking up between the folds. He turned around and picked up a towel from the rack next to the chair. Slinging the towel around his neck, Rocksteady plodded across the room and laid down on the bench press, placing his two large hands on the bar bell. The metal felt very cold against his palms and Rocksteady breathed in and out deeply, preparing himself for the weight. And then he lifted.

A regular human would have really struggled to lift the weights, but for Rocksteady's enhanced mutant strength it was only moderately difficult. He soon fell into a steady rhythm as he lifted and lowered the barbell, feeling the muscles in his arms and shoulders begin to strain and burn with the exercise. After about 5 minutes he felt sweat beginning to drip down his arms and neck, and the bandanna on his head dampen, and he increased his pace, pushing himself a little bit further.

This day had certainly been full of many firsts for the mutant; first time hanging out with someone other than Bebop, first time in an arcade in years, first time getting along with the turtles, and now he was lifting weights again just like in high school. The sensation of the weight and the rhythm of the exercise brought nostalgic memories flooding back to Rocksteady. The smell of his school's gym, the squeak of the equipment as other students worked out, the background noise of the girls' volleyball team playing a mock game; it all came back like it was yesterday. Weight lifting had been one of the few things in school he was good at and really enjoyed; sometimes he'd spend hours after classes in the weight room just working out, watching the girls' practice ("certainly an enjoyable experience" he thought slyly to himself) or just losing himself in the rhythm, trying to forget everything else as he put off going home as long as possible. Sometimes he stayed there so long that his "escort" had to send someone in to force him to come out to the car, which was always a bonus for Rocksteady; he smiled somewhat meanly to himself as he continued to work. He'd greatly enjoyed giving those bozos grief whenever he could. It'd always ticked him off that they had to be around in the first place. Yet another terrible and painful element of a past that Rocksteady never wanted anything to do with again.

Slowly Rocksteady's mind drifted towards recent events, as he continued to pump iron, the sweat glistening on his arms, his bandana nearly soaked and sticking to his head. He thought about the day he'd just had, how fun it had been to hang out with Tyler and Bebop like normal humans again, the taste of the delicious pizza he'd ordered at Vinnie's, and the ice cream Tyler bought him later. And the Turtles. Rocksteady wrestled with his feelings and doubts as he thought about what the turtles had said to him and Bebop. Were they really telling the truth? Would they really treat the two mutants like friends, just like that, if they ever quit working for the Shredder? But that didn't make any sense! He and Bebop had spent years and years fighting the turtles almost daily, so many times they'd tried to kill those green geeks, and yet the four of them didn't carry a grudge at all? How could that be? Rocksteady's thoughts briefly returned to his and Bebop's first meeting with Tyler and all that had followed after that. Even though the two of them had stolen from him, Tyler hadn't held a grudge either. Rocksteady snorted and frowned. Guess there really were such soft wimpy people in the world after all. How they could get by in life was anyone's guess. Rocksteady knew that "kill or be killed" was what really mattered. Got to take what you can get and not hesitate. Though…even with all that he couldn't really think of Tyler as being a "wimp" and he didn't wish that they weren't friends. Maybe there were just some exceptions, for cool people like Tyler and him and Bebop. He shook his head and tried to clear his thoughts. It was pointless going around in circles about this with himself. He should just talk to Bebop about it when they got back home. He always seemed to have the more level-headed sensible response to everything. He'd help Rocksteady straighten out all his confusion in no time, he always did.

Rocksteady smiled to himself and began to turn his mind to other, more pleasant thoughts, when suddenly a piercing scream filled the room. Rocksteady's heart leapt into his throat and he lowered his arms too quickly, bringing the barbell down on his chest with a painful crash, knocking the air out of his lungs. He sat up, his ribs throbbing, his eyes wide with shock, and saw a young twenty-something woman standing in the doorway , staring at him with an expression of great shock and fear.

"Wh…what are you doing in my house!" the woman shouted, backing away into the hall. "Where's Tyler!? Tyler!" she called out, stopping suddenly and jumping as her back hit the hallway wall behind her.

The woman was of medium height with light clear skin and shoulder length dark brown hair, the same shade as Tyler's, and her eyes, currently looking at him with terror, were grayish blue. Rocksteady thought she bore more than a passing resemblance to that actress from the horror movies about the guy with the claw hand, who attacked people in their dreams, though he couldn't remember her name. He knew THIS woman's name though, and his heart sank at the realization. It was Tyler's sister Angie, and based on her current reaction, Rocksteady could tell that she definitely had not been expecting to see him in here. "Dang it Tyler, you said you told her bout us." Rocksteady thought to himself as he began to open his mouth, to try and say something reassuring to the scared woman; as if there was anything a six foot tall rhino man could actually say to defuse this situation. Before he could speak he heard the sound of pounding feet approaching from down the hallway and saw Angie turn on her heals and run out of sight. Only a few short seconds later he heard her give out another somewhat quieter yelp of shock ("Must have just seen Bebop" Rocksteady thought) and then he heard Tyler' heated voice speaking quickly.

"Calm down Angie, it's alright. They're my friends, they won't hurt you. I told you about them coming over when we were at breakfast this morning, remember!?" spoke Tyler's voice, carrying down the hallway through the open door.

"Tyler what are you talking about! You didn't say anything about this! What are these crazy Halloween freaks doing here!?" the girl's voice shouted back, still sounding panicked.

"Don't call them freaks!" Tyler responded angrily. "They might look different but they're just normal guys underneath."

Rocksteady sighed in annoyance and heaved the heavy barbell off his chest, setting it down on the floor next to the bench as he got up and headed quickly for the door. This was just what they needed, a scared protective human freaking out on them. He told Tyler and Bebop this was a bad idea, but did they listen? No! No one ever listened! Shaking his head, Rocksteady followed the sound of arguing out into the hallway. Angie was leaning against one wall, looking frazzled as Tyler continued to try and calm her down. Bebop stood a few feet behind Tyler, further down the hall. When he caught sight of Rocksteady the mutant warthog shook his head and shrugged in a "what can you do?" type gesture, smiling slightly. Rocksteady noticed Angie jump as she caught sight of him again, and pulled up a few feet away, not wanting to get any closer and make the situation worse. The girl looked back and forth between the two mutants, appearing a bit like a trapped and scared animal. "You two better get out of our apartment now or I'm calling the cops on you!" she exclaimed, raising her voice, though by the look on her face she didn't appear very confident about getting to the phone.

Tyler glared at her angrily. "Angie stop it!" he shouted, grabbing her arm. "These are my friends, Bebop…" he said, nodding over his shoulder towards the warthog, "and Rocksteady." He finished, gesturing towards the rhino. "I've told you about them before, remember!? The ones I traded comic books with? You were all excited that I finally had some real friends to hang out with, said Mom and Dad would be so happy if they knew." He let go of his sister's arm and took a step back, gesturing towards the mutants. "So…here they are."

The gears in the young woman's head seemed to be turning as the expression on her face slowly changed. She looked back and forth between the two mutants again, her earlier fear starting to be replaced with recognition and confusion. "These…these are the guys you were telling me about?" she asked incredulously.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Yes, I think I've established that."

Angie looked at the mutants with a mix of disbelief and curiosity. "You didn't say they were…" she struggled to find the proper word.

"Different?" Rocksteady volunteered, frowning slightly, as irritation showed through in his voice

Angie jumped a little, as if she hadn't expected the two mutants to be able to speak. "Yeah, I guess." She responded, looking a little wary of the rhino man.

Bebop smiled and raised his hand. "Don't mind him. He can be a little grouchy sometimes." Rocksteady shot Bebop a look and the warthog smiled back.

Tyler rolled his eyes again. "I told you they were mutants too, remember?" he asked with sister with annoyance.

Angie nodded and looked a little embarrassed. "Yeah, but I guess I just didn't really understand what you meant. Whatever I was expecting, it wasn't…" she trailed off, looking at the two mutants again warily.

Bebop smiled and walked towards Tyler and Angie. "Dat's alright. Lotsa people get scarred by our looks at foist. We're kinda used to it. But we're totally human inside, don't woiry." He said. He stopped in front of the woman and stuck his hand out, trying to look friendly. "I'm Bebop." Angie still looked weary but after a moment reluctantly extended her hand and shook with Bebop. The mutant grinned as he took his hand back and then looked across the hall at Rocksteady. "And as yoir brudder mentioned, the grumpy lookin guy over dere is my best pal, Rocksteady." He said.

Angie turned and looked at Rocksteady pointedly, before finally sticking her arm out towards him. "Nice to meet you, I guess." She said.

Rocksteady braced himself inwardly as he walked forward and shook her hand, not entirely comfortable with the situation yet. His heart was still racing fast from when she had startled him a few minutes before. Or maybe it was something else…? As he took her hand in a firm but not too tight grip he suddenly became painfully aware of how slick and clammy his skin was. He took his hand back quickly after only a few quick pumps, feeling a bit embarrassed and not really understanding why. "Uh…yeah, hi," he said lamely to her, not really meeting her eyes.

Angie suddenly turned her gaze to Tyler and her eyes filled with a fire and spunk that hadn't been there before. "I can't believe you did this to me Tyler!" She declared. "You are always forgetting stuff like this, and leaving out important details! I was scared to death for a moment there."

Tyler looked at his sister with hurt and confusion, his cheeks starting redden at being scolded in front of his two new friends. "What are you talking about!?" he asked with indignation.

"You know exactly what I am talking about." Angie replied, giving him a sharp look. "You absolutely did NOT tell me that your friends might be coming over."

Tyler stopped and thought for a moment. He was still annoyed at his sister's aggressive scolding, but a bit of uncertainty played over his face. "What? But…I was sure that I told you!"

"Nope. I distinctly remember our entire conversation this morning and the topic of friends or people coming over did not come up once." Angie replied confidently.

Rocksteady and Bebop both starred at Tyler with annoyance. The boy caught his friends' gazes and grinned sheepishly, blushing. "Well…I certainly meant to tell you." He replied to his sister lamely.

"Well, you didn't." she replied with annoyance, and then sighed. "I swear you'd forget your head if it wasn't attached to your neck." She raised her gaze and rolled her eyes, looking at the two mutants as if they could sympathize with her. "You have no idea how annoying it is. You know that one time he forgot to wear his shoes when he left for school?" she asked.

"Angie!" Tyler cried indignantly. "You're embarrassing me! And that was way back in first grade!"

Bebop chuckled to himself as he poked Tyler playfully on the shoulder. "You didn' tell us you were so absent minded, Tyler. Sounds like you've got yur head in the clouds a lot." He said.

"Hey, l'm trying to work on it, really." He replied back with annoyance.

Rocksteady crossed his arms and smiled slightly. "Guess we was luck you even showed up on time ta meet us."

You got that right." Angie replied, cracking a smile.

"Hey! No way would I have been late to meet friends." Tyler declared confidently, crossing his arms.

Angie smiled and then turned to look at Rocksteady. She suddenly blushed slightly, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry for startling you before." She said. "I didn't realize you two were Tyler's friends. Even though he's been going on and on about you both, he was kind of vague about the important details. You can understand how it would be if you walked into your home and found two strange guys inside, especially if they looked…" She trailed off, looking more embarrassed. "Anyway, like I said, sorry for scaring you." She finished.

Rocksteady felt a bit surprised at the apology. "Um…no problem. It's ok. Like Bebop said we kinda get dat a lot." He replied, smiling.

Angie smiled back and then looked him over from head to toe. Her cheeks suddenly flushed a bit and she appeared both puzzled and amused. A look flashed in her eyes and for a moment the family resemblance between her and Tyler was uncanny. "So...not knowing anything about mutants myself, I have to ask. Is it normal for you to go around dressed like that?" she asked, an amused smile spreading on her face.

"Huh..Wazzat?" Rocksteady asked in confusion, and looked down at himself. Realization struck him and he felt his face begin to grow hot. In his haste to follow Angie back into the hallway earlier, he had forgotten to put his pants back on. He was standing there, plain as day, in only his boxers!

At Angie's comment, Tyler and Bebop both took notice of Rocksteady's state of dress for the first time and both burst out laughing, causing Rocksteady's pulse to quicken in embarrassment. "I didn't even notice before with all the commotion but…Dude where are your pants?" Tyler asked with all the tact of a typical twelve year old boy.

Bebop doubled over with laughter. "Aint ya movin a bit fast dere buddy?" he asked, raising his shades with one hand to wipe the tears of laughter from his eyes. "You've only know her for about a minute!"

Angie blushed at Bebop's comment and Rocksteady felt his face flush even hotter than before. "Hey! Quit joking around!" he sputtered desperately, which just caused Bebop and Tyler to laugh harder. He turned to Angie, his face nearly glowing with embarrassment. "Sorry…I'll be right back." He said, before turning on his heels and tromping back down the hall towards the exercise room, with the sound of his so-called friends' laughter still reaching his burning ears.

Rocksteady re-entered the weight room and stomped over to the chair where he'd left his things, feeling his heart race at what seemed like a mile a second. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been that embarrassed in his whole life! As he bent over to pick up his stuff he made a mental note to give Bebop a good hard smack on the snout when they got home for making such an idiotic comment. He felt like he could crawl under a rock and die! "And all in front of a girl too", Rocksteady noted, feeling himself start to flush all over again. Of all the ways to make an impression on Tyler's sister, he had to end up nearly exposing himself.

"Well at least things can't get any worse." He thought to himself, and then froze. His heart dropped into the pit of his stomach as he became painfully aware that he was still sticky and covered with sweat from his earlier work out and subsequent excitement, and that he must stink something awful. Being mutated into a bipedal rhinoceros had not done any favors to Rocksteady's natural body odor, and it could only be worse after the exercise he'd just done. "I bet she must think I'm a total disgusting slob." He thought to himself, feeling mortified. For the first time in his life Rocksteady found himself wishing that he actually owned some deodorant. But of course neither he nor Bebop did, not that he would have had it on him anyway. Being two brutish thugs working for a super villain, neither of the mutants really cared that much about personal hygiene; The only bodily maintenance Rocksteady really kept up with was shaving, but only because his face itched something awful if he went too long without doing it. And on top of everything, it had to have been at least a week or more since he'd showered last. Grumbling to himself, Rocksteady looked around the room desperately for anything he might use to muffle the stench of his body, but saw nothing that could help him. Feeling resigned, Rocksteady pulled the towel from around his shoulders and did his best to soak up the sweat; rubbing down his head and snout and the back of his neck, running the towel over his arms and legs and the small of his back and finally wiping down his arm pits. Having done the best he could, Rocksteady tossed the damp towel into the basket by the door and quickly pulled his pants on. He stuffed his bandanna into the back pocket of his pants and then took a moment to reattach the rest of his gear, making sure to tuck his blaster holster underneath his shirt so Angie wouldn't see it. That would be just what they needed, her catching a glimpse of their guns and having another freak-out.

Satisfied that he had all of his belongings, and that he was no longer half naked, Rocksteady headed back towards the door, his heart rate increasing in anticipation. As he reached the doorway, the mutant suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Wha...what the heck is wrong with me!?" Rocksteady asked himself out loud. He raised hands and slapped both palms against his cheeks, hard enough to slightly redden his thick gray skin. "I can't let some human freak me out. She's just a girl. I been around dat April girl tons a times. Dis aint any different!" he said, trying to reassure himself, to get his nerves calmed down. Yeah, that was right. She was just a human like any other. She had more reason to be freaked out by him than he had by her. But despite his little pep talk, a small part of Rocksteady's mind remained unconvinced. Yeah, she was a girl, but she was also Tyler's sister, and it certainly wouldn't be helpful to make a bad impression on her. And in addition...Rocksteady had to admit that she wasn't half bad looking. In fact, "pretty darn good looking" was more the correct description if he was really honest. It was a bit intimidating, and something Rocksteady didn't have that much experience with. Of course April was pretty darn hot too, but except for that one bizarre incident with a love potion that he preferred to completely forget, Rocksteady had never really thought of April in those terms, mostly encountering her "on the job" when he had other things to focus on. But this was different. This was an attractive girl who didn't know about his true criminal nature, whom he and Bebop would have to make like them if they hoped to stay friends with Tyler. It seemed an almost impossible task. But Rocksteady was quickly accepting the surprising fact that he actually -really wanted- to stay Tyler's friend. And if that meant getting along with his sister, then he had no choice but to try.

The mutant slapped his face one more time for emphasis and nodded with determination. "Calm down. Get a grip. You got dis." he said under his breath as he stepped back into the hallway to rejoin the others.

As he returned to the hallway, Rocksteady saw and heard that the group of three was now talking casually. And Tyler's sister definitely appeared to be in a more relaxed mood now. Rocksteady raised one hand in a small wave as he arrived. "I'm back. Sorry bout da wait. I just ran outta da room so fast earlier I left all my stuff behind, even my pants" He explained, giving a slightly embarrassed grin, showing his teeth.

Tyler cracked a smile again. "No problem, just don't let it happen again." He said, and winked.

Angie scanned him up and down, as if to make sure he really was fully clothed now. She looked at his ammo bandolier and sheathed machete with scrutiny, and Rocksteady swallowed and steeled himself, feeling glad that he had had the foresight to hide the laser pistol after all. "Interesting gear you have there. You guys survivalists or something?" she asked pointedly, glancing back at Bebop, whose of course had his own bandolier and random assortment of grenades and chains attached about his person.

"Um…yeah somethin like dat." Rocksteady responded nervously, looking at his friend for help.

Bebop smiled calmly. "It's really just for show. To make us look tough and intimidatin. Or else we can't do our job right. We don't want anyone tinkin dey can mess wit us." He responded. Rocksteady sighed inwardly and smiled to himself. Bebop could always think on his feet like that.

Angie nodded and turned back towards Rocksteady. "Oh yeah, that's right. Tyler and your friend here were telling me that you guys are bouncers at a club?" she asked.

Rocksteady crossed his fingers on his right hand, out of sight of Angie, and then replied. "Yeah, dat's right." He hesitated for a split second and then remembered the name of a joint he and Bebop had been to a few times when they were human. "Da Wild Shotgun night club. Its downtown, a little bit aways from Times Square." He blurted out, silently praying that Bebop hadn't already given her the name of someplace else.

Bebop grinned and flashed Rocksteady a stealth thumbs-up at his improve. "Yeah, it's a sweet gig. We don't even hardly have to do much. Just seeing us dere is enuff to make most people behave. And we get free drinks and a show most nights."

Angie nodded. "Yeah, I bet a person would have to be pretty drunk to start trouble with two guys like you on duty." She said, and then a thoughtful look came over her face. "Wild Shotgun…isn't that a strip joint?" she asked, and then frowned, looking at her two guests with a suddenly disapproving stare. "You're not going to be getting Tyler involved in any of that stuff, I can tell you right now!" she declared sternly.

Tyler slapped his forehead and looked annoyed. "Angie don't be so paranoid. You think they're going to drag me along to their club at night or something?" he asked.

Rocksteady looked surprised and shook his head vehemently. "'Course we wouldn't do somethin like dat!" he assured Angie.

Bebop nodded in agreement. "We aint dat dumb. We don't want ta lose our jobs ya know?" he said.

"See?" Tyler asked with annoyance.

Angie sighed in annoyance. "That doesn't really make me less worried. How old are you two anyway?" she asked.

Rocksteady felt a bit nervous as he scratched his head and glanced at Bebop. "Um…not really sure anymore, actually. We kinda lost track of dat stuff after we got turned inta mutants"

Tyler looked at the Rhino in surprise. "Really? Like you don't even remember your birthday?"

Rocksteady shook his head. "Nope. Completely forgot." This was a bald face lie. Of course Rocksteady could no sooner forget his own birthday as he could forget his own name, either one of them. But like a lot of personal details, this was something he wasn't ok sharing with anyone besides Bebop. The rhino looked up, waiting to see if his friend would back up the statement.

Bebop nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah. Seems like dat stuff just stopped being important after we changed." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I think maybe we was nineteen when we mutated, but I don't really remember, and that was a while ago."

"Nineteen?" Angie asked incredulously, looking at the two with sudden suspicion. "So then you're probably around my age. Don't you think it's a little weird for grown men to be hanging out with a twelve year old?"

Tyler rolled his eyes again and sighed. "Come on Angie, don't be such a paranoid stick in the mud. Who cares about age? We have the same interests and we have fun hanging out. That's all that matters."

"Yeah!" Bebop chimed in his agreement. "We don't mind dat Tyler's a kid. He's still cool." The warthog suddenly looked a bit embarrassed. "He's kinda da first friend we've had too, besides each other." he said, rubbing the back of his head with one hand.

"Really?" asked Angie, her look softening slightly. Bebop nodded.

Suddenly Rocksteady got his excited "I've got something to contribute" look on his face, and grinned widely. "Yeah! And anyway, even dough we're adults, da boss and udder people always say dat we're immature. So we can totally fit in wit Tyler." he announced proudly.

Angie giggled and Bebop snorted with amusement. Tyler shook his head and patted Rocksteady on the elbow sympathetically. "Dude, you know that when they say that it's not a compliment, right?"

"It aint?" Rocksteady asked, looking genuinely surprised.

Bebop snorted again, this time with annoyance. "'Course it's not, dipstick." he said.

Rocksteady growled and glared at Bebop. "Well how was I 'sposed to know dat hogbreath!?" he shot back.

Bebop crossed his arms, looking haughty. "Anyone wit half a brain would know, horn head."

Rocksteady balled up his fists. "You want me to rip out that nose ring of yours, right here?" he asked angrily.

"Alright boys, that's enough." Angie declared, stepping boldly between the two mutants, holding up her arms. Her tone was stern but she was smiling. "I take it back. You two are a perfect fit with Tyler."

"Hey!" Tyler exclaimed in annoyance. "I'm not that bad."

"You totally are." Angie shot back, grabbing her brother around his neck playfully. "You're always driving me crazy."

Tyler squirmed and pulled away from his sister. "Stop it Angie, you're embarrassing me." he said, though he had a half smile on his face as he spoke.

Angie brushed her hands together like she had just completed a task. She looked at the two mutants expectantly. "So...since you're here, you two are welcome to stick around for dinner. I'm making meatball lasagna." she said. At the mention of dinner Tyler looked at his sister with an embarrassed and contrite expression, causing Angie to narrow her eyes at him. "What?" she asked suspiciously.

"We...kind of already ate." Tyler responded.

"And had dessert." Bebop added, prompting an annoyed look from Tyler.

Angie glared at her brother, a new swell of annoyance rising inside her. "I told you this morning that I was planning to cook tonight. I asked you not to fill up on after school snacks. But I bet you forgot all that too." she said acidly.

"I'm sorry ok." Tyler responded. "Yes I forgot. We were having fun at the arcade and then decided to go get some pizza at Vinnie's and I didn't think about dinner at all."

Angie crossed her arms in annoyance. "Well I guess I'll just have to eat all by myself." she declared in a huff.

"Um..." Rocksteady began, raising his hand a bit reluctantly, like a school kid in class with an intimidating teacher. "Actually, I could go for some lasagna." he said.

Tyler looked at the mutant with bug eyes. "You ate an entire hand-tossed large pizza by yourself and half the breadstick basket AND the ice cream. Where are you going to put anymore food?" he asked with surprise.

Rocksteady smiled warmly. "Haven't you seen me? I'm a mutant. I've got a mutant sized appetite." he said with pride, thumping his substantial belly with one hand.

Bebop smiled and shook his head. "Don't buy his junk explanation. Rocksteady's just a pig." He exclaimed, reaching over and poking Rocksteady playfully in the gut.

"Who are you callin a pig, pig?" Rocksteady responded. "I know you want some too."

Definitely!" Bebop said. He turned to Angie and gave her a thumbs up. "Lasagna's one of my favorite foods. Lay it on us sistah." he said.

"Alright, glad I'll have some company for dinner." Angie said, giving her brother another dirty look. "Since you failed to listen to me AND you forgot to tell me your friends were coming over, why don't you pay me back by doing your homework tonight instead of on Sunday?"

A look of horror plastered across Tyler's face, more dramatic than any of his previous expressions. "Come on Angie, anything but that! Bebop and Rocksteady and me were going to hang out more and play some games or watch a movie or something. That's going to screw up the whole night."

"Maybe that will teach you to pay more attention." Angie said as she turned and walked past Bebop back down the hall towards the kitchen. "You can do that stuff until I'm done cooking the meal." she said back over her shoulder.

Tyler's face fell at his sister's declaration and he sighed with resignation. There was no protesting when Angie put her foot down like that. He was stuck. "Guess we can't really do much tonight after all." he said to the two mutants.

The disappointed look on Tyler's face struck something inside Rocksteady, something that he hadn't really suspected was there. "You know...maybe we could help ya wit your homework." he said, and even as he spoke the words surprised him. At the end of the hall Angie stopped and looked back at the three with curiosity.

Bebop stared at his friend with a bit of surprise, but after a moment he smiled and nodded. "Uh, yeah." He added. "If we help, you could get it done faster and we'd have time ta do more stuff after."

Tyler looked up at his friends, his face betraying a mix of surprise and disbelief. "You'd really do that?" he asked.

Bebop smiled. "Sure. We're friends right?" he said.

Rocksteady nodded, and then looked a little worried. "Don't know how much help we can be dough. We weren't much good at school, and we kinda mess stuff up a lot. But we'll definitely try our best!" he finished, giving the boy a crooked smile.

Tyler smiled back warmly at his friends. "Thanks guys." he said, his voice filled with a significant amount of emotion.

At the end of the hall Angie watched the exchange, feeling a similar mix of emotions wash over her. She hadn't really been serious about making Tyler do his homework that night, even if she had been really annoyed with his behavior. It wouldn't be fair to force him to work with his friends over. But maybe she would let the "punishment" stand after all. Tyler had never had anyone to help him with his homework other than their parents (Angie was often home too late or too tired), had barely even had any real friends at all in his short life so far. The look on Tyler's face at the moment Rocksteady and Bebop offered to help, and the warmth in his voice, was something Angie had rarely seen him express before, especially with anyone outside the family. There really was something special between her brother and these two strange mutant men. Maybe this odd pairing could work out after all. Angie smiled warmly to herself and nodded, slipping away down the hall before the three could turn around and notice her watching. She headed through the living room and into the kitchen to begin fixing dinner, a new light spring in her step.

In Rocksteady's opinion the tray of lasagna that Angie brought to the table was woefully small, he could have easily eaten the entire thing and considered it just a light snack. But he managed not to complain at all as Angie distributed the portions to each of their plates; even Tyler decided that he'd have a small slice, just to satisfy his sister. But even with such a small portion, Rocksteady had to admit it was the best tasting lasagna he'd ever had in his life. The four of them spent their twenty minute dinner around the small living room table making small talk; the mutants and Tyler chatting amicably about comics, movies, and video games, with Angie interjecting her own thoughts any time they brought up a movie she'd actually seen.

Even though she wasn't a large part of the conversation Angie didn't really mind, it was such a refreshing novelty to just watch her brother interact with friends of his own. She observed the way the two mutants bantered with the boy, taking note of almost every sentence and word choice, watching carefully for any hint that the two of them might be dangerous to Tyler or taking advantage of him in some way. She was still suspicious of the age difference, and their declared profession, but to her relief she wasn't seeing anything particularly worrisome yet. The two mutants weren't sending off any "creeper" vibes, accidental nudity notwithstanding, and they seemed genuinely engaged and interested in her brother, treating him as their equal. From the mental perspective, it seemed like having three average pre-teen boys in the house, rather than one boy and two hulking animal men.

After dinner Tyler reluctantly dragged his homework into the living room and the two mutants fulfilled their promise to try and help. "Try" being the operative word. Like Rocksteady predicted, the two of them were obviously ill equipped for the rigors of sixth grade math and science, and Tyler ended up spending most of the time teaching the material to them, rather than receiving their help. But in the end the arrangement was still ultimately beneficial, as Tyler finished the work much quicker than his average time; the presence of friends keeping him on task and preventing daydreaming, Angie noted. The trio finished the evening by watching a couple of the latest episodes of some super hero show Tyler had recorded off the TV recently.

All in all, it had been one of the strangest and most unique days experienced by all parties involved. Full of ups and downs, fears and anxieties, and completely shocking surprises. Late that night, after returning to the Technodrome; exhausted and drained, but strangely invigorated at the same time, Rocksteady had to finally admit to his friend just how much fun he'd had, and what a great idea hanging out with Tyler had actually turned out to be. "See, I told ya buddy, nuttin to worry 'bout." Bebop replied, and Rocksteady had to agree. The mutants stayed awake for almost two hours more, laying in their bunks in the dark, excitedly talking about all the highlights of their day, and anticipating with great enthusiasm their next opportunity to hang out with Tyler. As they finally drifted to sleep at a little past midnight, dreaming purely innocent and happy dreams for perhaps the first time in years, neither one of the two mutants realized the truth of the Pandora's Box they had inadvertently opened, and that they had just taken another large step down the path that would soon change their lives permanently.