Rocky wondered if he had the right address. Actually, he wondered if he had been the victim of some joke. The outside of the building hadn't been done up yet, and it looked almost abandoned. It was pretty large, though - it took up almost half the city block. Well, I came all this way, thought Rocky. Wouldn't hurt to at least check it out. Resigned, Rocky walked up to the main door and knocked.

It took a while before someone opened the door and peeked out. It was a woman, wearing ripped jeans and a Harley T-shirt. She looked at Rocky with a mixture of confusion and alarm. "We're not open yet."

"I know. I'm s'posed to see Dave...?"

"Wh'? What for?"

"Um, I was s'posed to see 'im 'bout the bouncer job?"

"Oh! You're...Rocky?"

Rocky grinned slightly. "Yeah."

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, he's in back. Come on in." She opened the door wide, and Rocky ducked his head and entered. She started to lead him through the building, but Rocky stopped to stare at the layout. There were no fewer than three bars, each in the process of getting fully stocked. There was a main stage, and two smaller ones to the sides, along with plenty of chairs and tables. Rocky tried to picture the place open. Rock club? No...

The woman looked back at him, confused. Rocky looked back at her. "Um, what kinda place is this?"

"It'll be a gentleman's club."

"A gentleman's...?" Rocky looked at the stages, the chairs, the bars, and then it hit him. A strip club! He was applying for a job in a strip club!

"Didn't you know?" asked the woman.

"Nah, but it's cool! It's cool. I just...I dunno. Wasn't thinkin'."

The woman smiled. "Let me go get Dave." She walked into the offices in back as Rocky absently watched a guy stock the nearest bar. The man slowed his work considerably, as he found having a seven-foot rhino supervising him somewhat unnerving. Rocky's thoughts were elsewhere, though. A strip club! he thought. This'll be so cool!

An older, balding man wearing a shirt and tie emerged from the back room. Upon seeing Rocky, he whistled. "Well, looking like that, you better be Rocky!"

Rocky turned to look at him, grinning. "Yeah. Are you Dave?"

"You bet," the man replied. Rocky stuck out his hand, and cautiously, Dave shook it. "My brother says you spared him a bit of trouble on Monday."

"Yeah, well, a couple guys got to fightin'..." Rocky trailed off.

"And you jumped in and stopped them? That was mighty good of you."

Rocky shrugged. "I dunno if it was good or nothin'. I just didn't want there to be any trouble."

Dave smiled. "That's exactly what I'm looking for here. I want the Kitty Kat Klub to be the best gentleman's club in town, and a place like this runs at its best when there's a minimum of trouble. So let's give you a try." He leaned around Rocky and yelled towards the bar at the other end of the building. "Sam! Sarah! Come give me a hand a second, will ya?" Two people who were helping stock the bars dropped what they were doing and came over. "Rocky, this is Sam, the head bartender, and Sarah, one of our entertainers. This is Rocky - he's looking to be our head security." Rocky smiled, mouth closed, and offered his hand. Both Sam and Sarah reluctantly held out their own, and Rocky carefully shook each one. "I need to do a quick test on Rocky. Sarah, can you hop on stage and pretend you're on? And Sam, can you rush her?"

Sarah walked over and stepped onto the stage, but Sam stayed where he was. "What's he gonna do to me?"

Rocky smiled again. "Don't worry. I ain't gonna hurt ya none."

Slowly, but without taking his eyes off of Rocky, Sam approached the stage. Sarah began moving back and forth, half-singing to herself. Sam shook his head, gritted his teeth, and then jumped up onto the runway with her. Rocky quietly stepped over to the edge of the runway, leaned between them, and put his right index fingertip against Sam's chest. Slowly, but firmly, he began increasing the pressure. Sam suddenly stepped back, and Rocky spun his hand slowly so he was pushing Sam both away from Sarah and off the stage. Sam tried pushing against the pressure, and then slipping away from it, but finally he gave in to the inevitable, and leapt off of the stage.

Rocky turned to Dave. "So, do they get a warnin' or somethin', or do I just toss 'im at that point?"

Dave just stared. "What did you do?"

Rocky looked confused. "Nothin'. Jus' this." He put his fingertip on Dave and pushed slightly.

Dave turned to Sam. "And that made you back off?"

Sam rubbed his chest. "You kiddin'? I might have a mark there tomorrow."

Turning back to Rocky, Dave scratched his head. "Why'd you do it that way?"

Rocky shrugged, feeling uneasy. Had he done something wrong? "It's quiet. An' simple And it kinda lets the guy know I got lots in reserve. Um, if you want me to do it some other way..."

"No, no, that's actually idea. Actually, it's even smoother than I could've hoped." Hank sort of frowned. "But what if you're…provoked it some way?"

"You're afraid I'll lose it?" asked Rocky.

"Well, yeah."

Rocky waved that away. "Look, I got in plenty o' scrapes when I was younger. I'm…kinda over all that now." He thought of Michelangelo. "One o'...one o' my friends sez that once ya know ya can win a fight, there's no need t' fight no more. An'...that's the way I try to keep it."

"Sounds like a smart friend."

"Yeah."

"You working now?"

"Yeah, part-time. Roosevelt Moving an' Storage."

"You looking for fulltime work?"

"You bet!"

Dave looked askance at Rocky. "You're willing to leave your current place?"

Rocky shrugged. "They only got me on part-time. As long as I work out the next two weeks, it'll be cool."

"Well, we don't open for another three weeks, but I think we can get you on board by that time to help set up." Dave held out his hand, and Rocky clasped it. "Welcome aboard. We'll need to take care of your paperwork, but I'm a bit swamped right now..."

"Dave!" Someone yelled from the office door. "Phone call! It's your mother!"

"OK! Be right there!" Dave turned back to Rocky. "That's one phone call you gotta take, right?" he asked rhetorically, smiling.

"Yeah," agreed Rocky. He didn't look that convinced, though.

"About the paperwork. Can you come back tomorrow morning?"

"Um..." Rocky considered. "Yeah, early on. I gotta be at work at eleven."

"OK. We'll see you here around ten?" Rocky nodded, and Dave said, "Excellent. See you then."

"You bet. Thanks a lot!" Rocky shook his hand again, then watched him head towards the back, wondering why he was feeling so weird.

Casey peeked around the corner. "Pizza delivery!"

Michelangelo looked up and grinned. "The two most beautiful words in the English language. C'mon in!"

Casey walked in, with April right behind, and handed the four pizza boxes to Michelangelo. "No goofy flavors. Anything weird you gotta add yourself."

Raphael snorted. "Well, just 'cause you won't try something different..."

"Your toppings aren't different," argued Casey, smiling. "They're just plain wrong."

As Michelangelo arranged the pizza boxes on the counter, Rocky entered the kitchen. April smiled at him. "Hey. I hear congratulations are in order."

"Yeah," said Rocky. "Looks like I'll be startin' in a couple weeks." He wasn't exactly frowning, but he didn't seem overly excited either. It appeared to go unnoticed among the turtles and humans, but Splinter kept looking over at Rocky with a small frown during the small pizza party.

After the pizza was gone, and April and Casey had said their goodbyes, the turtles began washing up. Rocky was about to see if he could help when Splinter asked to have a word with him. As Splinter led him back to his room, Rocky wondered what they were going to talk about. Probably he's gonna try to get me pumped up about this job, he decided. Once they reached his room, Splinter sat down, lit a few candles, then considered his boarder, who sat cross-legged in front of him, eyes cast down.

"Something appears to be bothering you, Rocksteady," said Splinter, quietly. Rocky shrugged slightly, and Splinter pressed the point. "Are you not happy? Is there something you wish to discuss?"

Rocky looked at the lit candles, in an attempt to avoid eye contact. "It's…I dunno..."

"You are happy with your new job offer?"

"Oh, yeah. Definitely. It sounds cool."

"During dinner, we discussed you finding a different place to live. Do you find this worrisome?"

"N-no, not really," Rocky mumbled. "I mean, I like you guys good enough, but I'd...kinda like to live above ground, y'know?"

"Assuredly. No offense taken at all." Splinter smiled, then went on. "Everything is all right with Bebop?"

"Oh, yeah, he's cool. He still ain't happy 'bout bein' in jail 'n' all, but he's lookin' forward to gettin' out."

"And yet, something appears to be disquieting you." Again Rocky shrugged slightly, and appeared uncomfortable. Splinter put his hand on Rocky's knee, and said softly, "Whatever it is, please feel free to share your burden. You know that you may discuss anything with me, my son."

A small part of Rocky was somewhat surprised to be called "my son" by Splinter, but he was more surprised that it didn't bother him much. Sighing, Rocky said, "I dunno. It's...I been thinkin' 'bout Ma."

"Ma…oh, your mother?"

"Yeah."

Splinter, seeing how uncomfortable Rocky was, gently urged him on. "Please share your thought, my son."

"She's...I dunno why I started thinkin' 'bout it. Guy at the strip club - he jus' kinda mentioned his mom, and it got me thinkin'..."

"Yes?"

"I...weren't very nice to her, y'know? I kinda ran out on her when I was wit' da Foot. Never said 'bye' or nothin'." Rocky sighed and waved his hand. "It doesn't matter - that's all a long time ago. It don't matter now."

"It has not been so long that you cannot rectify the situation. Is your mother still alive?"

"Wha'? Well, yeah, 's far as I know..."

"Then why not contact her?"

Rocky's eyes went wide. "Wha'! I can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"'cause...'cause look at me!"

"Yes, you are now a mutant," said Splinter. "But despite that, would she not want to hear from you?"

"I..." Rocky considered. What would Ma think? "Aw, she wouldn't want to see me again. Not after the way I treated her."

Splinter smiled. "Never underestimate the love of a parent, Rocksteady. You can but try. Would you be willing to attempt to contact your mother again?"

Again, Rocky considered. "Yeah, I guess. But I can't just show up at home lookin' like this!"

"No, probably not." Splinter smiled. "But give us some time. Certainly we can find a way so that you may see your mother again."

Casey pulled his truck up to the apartment building, and turned to look at Splinter. "You gonna be a while?"

Splinter thought for a second. "We may not be long. Would you mind waiting?"

Putting the truck in park, Casey gave a rueful smile to Splinter. "You're determined to teach me patience, aren't ya?"

Splinter bowed his head slightly. "You indeed have done much for us, and I greatly appreciate it. If there is somewhere else you must go…"

"Nah, it's cool. I can hang here for a bit."

"Thank you, Casey." Splinter got out of the truck, and while waiting for Rocky to leap out of the bed, he spied a woman sitting at the small table on the front porch of the apartment complex. When Rocky joined him, he asked, "Is that she?"

Rocky screwed his eyes up and gave a small start. "Yeah, that's her."

"Excellent. You remember what to do, Rocksteady?" Rocky nodded. "Then let us go." Rocky fell into step behind Splinter, who walked up the sidewalk to the porch. "Mrs Rodriguez?" asked Splinter.

The woman on the porch stared at Splinter. "Yes. You're the one who called yesterday about my son?"

"Correct. My name is Hamato Yoshi," he said, bowing. Then turning slightly to Rocky, he added, "This is Rocksteady." Rocky bowed as well. "May I join you?"

"I...guess," she said, looking meaningfully at Rocky. Splinter sat at the table with her, but Rocky took a seat on the garden wall, much to Mrs Rodriguez's relief. "You know where my son is?"

"I do. Currently your son is staying with me," began Splinter.

"But why…why didn't you bring him with you?"

"In fact, he does wish to see you, Ms Rodriguez. But we felt it necessary to...prepare you. As I told you on the phone, your son has mutated since you saw him last. He no longer looks at all as you remember him."

"But why? What happened? What's he look like now?"

"He...looks like one of us," answered Splinter. "Part human, part animal. As to why, it was not something he was expecting. You can discuss that with him if you wish."

"So, how'm I recognize Robbie when I see him?" asked Mrs Rodriguez.

"You will not," said Splinter, simply. "And therefore, I would ask you to not look at his outward appearance when you see him again. Instead, look to the inside. Remember the Robbie that you knew before. That Robbie is still there, inside him." Splinter couldn't read Mrs Rodriguez's expression, so he went on. "I do want you to feel sure that, when we bring Robbie to see you, that you are certain that it is, in fact, your son. So I would ask you to think of some memories. Things from your past and Robbie's past. Things that only you and he would remember."

Mrs Rodriguez managed a small smile. "Just like the movies?"

Splinter returned the smile. "A bit."

"You really think I won't be able to recognize my son when I see him?"

"I'd say that was almost certain."

Mrs Rodriguez closed her eyes and sighed. "OK. Something from his past, then?"

"Yes. Something from when he was quite young. A friend, or a toy, or something he used to say?"

"Hm." Mrs Rodriguez thought. "Well, there was this stuffed animal he used to carry around a lot, but he was really young. Four or five, I think. I don't know if he'll remember it." She smiled slightly. "It was this small grey horse he used to take with him everywhere..."

"Cow," said Rocky, quietly.

Mrs Rodriguez, who had almost forgotten he was there, turned to face him. "I'm sorry - what did you say?"

"It weren't a horse - it was a cow. Mookle."

"Mookle," agreed Mrs Rodriguez. "And you're right, come to think of it. It was a cow. Now how on earth..." Suddenly, Mrs Rodriguez's eyes grew wide. "No," she said very quietly. After a short pause, she whispered, "Robbie?"

Rocky grinned lopsidedly. "Ma."

Mrs Rodriguez put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, my God," she said, louder. "Robbie!"

Rocky's grin grew more lopsided, and a tear rolled out of his eye. "Yeah, Ma, it's me."

Kicking her chair back, Mrs Rodriguez sprang to her feet, leapt forward, and put her arms around the seven-foot rhino in front of her. "Oh, Robbie..."

Rocky closed his eyes, gently put his arms around his mother, and didn't bother hiding the tears that sprang forth. "Oh, Ma, I'm so sorry..."

Splinter unobtrusively got to his feet, picked up his walking stick, and headed back to Casey's truck. He opened the door, got in, and closed the door behind him.

"Well," said Casey. "That didn't take long."

"No," agreed Splinter, putting on his seatbelt. "You can take me back to the lair now, if you wish."

"Don't you want to wait for him?"

Splinter glanced at Rocky, still hugging his mother. "I have a feeling they have a lot to discuss. Rocky can get back to the lair from here."

Casey shrugged, started the engine, and pulled out into the street. "You sure've done a lot for him."

"Yes. And perhaps he has done a lot for us as well."

"Really? How you mean?"

Splinter smiled. "It might surprise you to learn this, Casey, but we do not plan on living in the sewers for the rest of our lives."

Casey was, in fact, surprised. "Really?" he repeated. "You're looking to move out?"

"It would be extremely cruel to force my sons to live in the sewer system for their entire lives, when there's an entire world here for them to take part in."

Suddenly, Casey understood. "Oh! So Rocky..."

"Rocky, in many ways, has blazed a trail for us to follow. He has shown that yes, there is plenty of anti-mutant prejudice in the world above. But it is not insurmountable. A mutant can hold down a job, interact with others, and make his way in the world of humans. Admittedly, Rocky has size on his side - many people might act against someone smaller, when they would not do so against a much larger opponent. But we feel it is worth the risks. Hopefully, it will not be much longer before we begin following in his footsteps."

"Hm." Casey thought about this for a minute, then smiled. "Any chance of you getting your own truck soon?"

Again, Splinter smiled. "One of my first priorities will be obtaining a driver's license, and then purchasing a vehicle. After which, of course, you will be freed from your job as mutant chauffeur."

Casey laughed. "Just lemme know when you need a ride to the DMV!"