Disclaimer:

Author's Note: Ok, this story is a tie-in for Misadventures of the Mentally Unstable, although most people who haven't read Misadventures will be able to follow along anyway. You just may be slightly confused as to what the point of this story is. So I encourage you to go read Misadventures, although it doesn't need to be read first since none of my OC's will make an appearance here.

Now, before we get started, a quick note on the universe I'm working in:

In my universe, Professor Jordan Perry (movie-verse) did indeed create the mutagen, but I'm ignoring the other events of the movie. He never met the turtles, and is unaware of their existence.

Mona Lisa Smile
Chapter 1

Present Time

She'd been running for almost a year now, and to tell the truth… she was damned tired of it. Her father would have reprimanded her for even thinking such language… but her father was dead, and she was alone. Pulling the trench coat tighter around herself to ward off the chilly night air, Mona shivered and sat down under a dark sheltering tree. It was a bad idea to rest, she knew, but her legs were sore from how many miles she'd ran today. She flexed her fingers, the knuckles cracking loudly in the still night air. The sound startled her and she froze, listening for any noise that might indicate her pursuers knew where she was. When there was no response, she relaxed slightly. Someone had been following her for the last few days, but they'd had trouble tracking her once she'd taken to the denser areas of the forest.

Things might not have been so bad if she'd had money. But money was hard to come by and Mona hated to steal unless absolutely necessary. After her father had died, his bank accounts had been frozen. She'd used his bank cards for as long as the ATM's would accept them, but that had only been a few weeks, and she'd only gotten a couple hundred dollars out at most. As hard as she tried to ration the money out, it had only lasted a few months before she was broke and reduced to pilfering what she needed to survive.

Things might also have been easier if she'd been human. Most people didn't take too kindly to green-skinned mutant freaks that wandered into their towns. The tail didn't help much either. She glanced down at the light brown spots that mottled the back of her hands. Mona had vague memories of being human… long ago when she was very young. But they seemed more like dreams of another person; someone not herself. The thick pebbled green skin that covered her body was as familiar to her as her own name; and she couldn't imagine life without her long beautiful tail, the tip of which was now curled around one ankle gently rubbing at an itch inside her sock. The rounded beak that served as her nose and mouth was unusual when compared to normal people's features, but that too was something that she just considered natural now. The dark brown hair that fell to just below her shoulders in a silky straight cascade was the only currently visible remnant of her more human days.

Her positive self image had a lot to do with her father. Even after discovering what had been done to his baby girl, he'd never shunned her in any way. He'd told her every day how beautiful she still was, and that someday other people would see that too. Unfortunately, she had no idea when that someday would come. It seemed like much too far away right now. And the men tracking her certainly didn't want her because she was pretty. They wanted her because she wasn't human.

The people her father had tried to protect her from for 20 years had finally found her and she wasn't sure how much longer she could run from them. At least she thought it was them. It was possible that she'd slipped up somewhere, and someone else had been alerted to her existence. Mona's father had always told her, "Sweetie… there's never a shortage of mad scientists in the world. Always be on guard."

It seemed hopeless, yet she'd never stop running. If those bastards wanted her (and she was sure they would eventually find her), she wouldn't go down without a fight.

The hairs on the back of Mona's neck prickled suddenly and she listened quietly to the night around her. All those little sounds that were the natural activity of the forest had ceased, and she knew she'd been caught. How they found her this quickly, she had no idea, but there was no way out for her now. She knew it as surely as she knew that no one would miss her when she was gone.

Springing up from the ground with a futile determination, Mona sprinted away from the shelter of the tree, not daring to look back over her shoulder. She could hear twigs snapping behind her and despite the weary ache in her muscles, she pushed her legs as hard as she could. It was all for not, though, when she heard the sudden sharp hiss and release of pressure. Three needles hit her in the back of the neck and she stumbled at the unexpected pain.

Twigs tore at the already shredded bottom of her jacket and Mona pitched forward, just barely managing to catch herself with her hands as the poison sucked the strength from her body. They'd overdosed her, she could tell already. It had taken effect too quickly. With an almost pleased smile, Mona prayed to God that the drugs would kill her fast. Better to die now than be subjected to whatever horrors awaited her at the hands of those who had hunted her.

She collapsed to the ground, unable to hold herself up anymore. Soft footsteps stopped just next to her head, but her eyes were already closing. Before she faded from consciousness, Mona could just make out the hardened male voice that had knelt down to examine her face.

"Yes… I think Adair will be pleased with this one."

End Chapter 1
After the fic Notes: And enter Mona Lisa, the gecko/lizard mutant girl from the original cartoon series. The episode was titled "Raphael Meets His Match", for anyone interested. The only similarity between my Mona and the cartoon Mona is that she was once human who was purposely mutated by a twisted scientist into a lizard. Other than that, I'm completely twisting her background around as you'll see in the next few chapters.

And to all you who guessed at the characters? Good guesses, but none of you got it right! (That I remember) Muahaha! I'm so sneaky! ...er... yah... so... hope you liked it.