A large, black van with strange instruments covering the exterior rode through the city streets. Letters "MH" could be seen on the sides.
"This is it, Parker," the woman driving told the man riding in the passenger side. "The chance we've been waiting for."
"Sure thing, boss," Parker agreed. "But what exactly are we looking for here?"
"Come on, Parker. What's the name of my show?" She asked him, sounding irritated.
"Monster Hunter," Parker said with a sigh.
"Exactly! And that is what we're looking for."
"but in New York city?"
"Strange reports of creature sightings have recently been building up here," She told him.
"Last time we came here, you mistook that rock hero, Ben Grimm, for a monster," Parker reminded her. "We got in a lot of trouble for trying to hunt him."
"Honest mistake!" She cried out in defense. "Not my fault that man has a very monstrous form."
"All I'm sayin' is we don't want something like that happenin' again."
"And it won't, Parker! This time I'm certain. There are monsters in New York and I, Dr Abigail Finn, am going to hunt them!"
Parker let out another sigh as the truck drove on, looking for a spot to stop for the night, "Sure thing, boss."
...
The Next Morning
Kaitlyn and Kris were getting ready for school. They were fighting for use of the bathroom sink, when the doorbell rang.
"Kitkat, would you mind getting that, please?" Ben Grimm called from the kitchen.
"Sure, Uncle Ben!" Kaitlyn called back as she walked out of the bathroom and towards the front door. When she opened it, she saw a large figure being hidden by an equally large arrangement of flowers.
"Uh, may I help you?" Kaitlyn asked, with a hint of suspicion.
"That would be phenomenal!" The figure cheered, shifting the flowers to one side. Kaitlyn let out a gasp when she saw who it was.
"Abigail Finn?" She said angrily. "Why are you here? Were we not clear last time? My Uncle is not a monster!"
"Yes, yes. Terribly sorry about that misunderstanding," Abigail said as she offered the flowers. Kaitlyn glared at them, and then at the monster hunter.
"I realize I acted too hasty then," Abigail continued. "And I was hoping you and the four could help me not make the same mistake."
"What? You're still monster hunting?"
"Of course! They're out there to be hunted!" Abigail cried excitedly as she threw out her hands in joy, sending the flowers flying.
"No! They're not! There are no monsters in this city, or any city! And we refuse to help psycho Doctors who believe there are!" Kaitlyn bellowed before closing the door and locking Abigail out. Kaitlyn walked over to the flowers that had been tossed aside and picked them up. "Hey Johnny!" She called, walking towards the kitchen. "I got a bunch of flowers you can burn!"
...
"Are you okay?" April asked Kaitlyn as they met up to walk to school together. "And where's Kris?"
"He's running late. Said he'll catch up later," Kaitlyn informed her.
"Casey said the same. So just us girls this morning," April said. "Now, what's on your mind?"
"Abigail Finn paid a visit just before you got here," Kaitlyn told her.
"Who?" April asked.
"This crazy monster hunting Doctor who tried to hunt my Uncle almost a year ago."
April twitched at the term 'monster hunting'.
"She offered flowers as an apology," Kaitlyn continued. "But all she wants is our help. She thinks there are monsters in the city and wants my family to hunt them with her. But there is no way we're doing that."
"Wow," April responded. "Sounds, … stressful."
"And what angers me most is that her definition of monster doesn't extend past appearance," Kaitlyn ranted.
"You mean, just because they look different, this Dr. Abigail thinks she has the right to hunt them?" April clarified.
"Exactly! They could be having a tea party and she'd still be blind to the real monster; herself."
April smiled, remembering the time Leo told her he had to have a tea party with a little girl just to get a canister of mutagen from her. "I'm sorry you have to deal with her," she told Kaitlyn.
"We won't have to for long," Kaitlyn admitted. "My family is finally getting a restraining order."
"That's good," April said, relieved for her friend. "I wonder what she thinks she's going to be hunting, though."
"I looked it up quickly on my phone after she left. Apparently there's been a spike in Creature Sighting reports. Especially by construction workers in the sewer." Kaitlyn explained. April tensed at the realization that Dr. Abigail Finn was here to hunt the turtle brothers and the other mutants they've been fighting. She had to warn her friends.
"April?"
"Huh?" April snapped back to focus when she realized Kaitlyn was trying to get her attention.
"You blanked out for a moment. Everything okay?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Yeah," April lied. "Just thinking."
"About what?" Kaitlyn wondered. April paused, thinking of an excuse.
"I was trying to imagine what you went through with that psycho hunting your Uncle."
Kaitlyn was silent and April held her breath, praying that she wasn't caught in her lie.
"It wasn't fun," Kaitlyn finally said.
The day went by at a snail's pace as April secretly worried. Despite trying not to look anxious, she frequently glanced at the clock and fiddled with her pencils. Thankfully, no one but Casey noticed. "Yo, Red, what's the deal?" Casey whispered during their final class for the day.
"The guys are in trouble," she whispered back, pointing to the floor but indicating the sewers underground. "We have to warn them."
"What kinda trouble?"
"Monster Hunter."
Casey's eyes widened slightly and the pencil he was holding slipped through his fingers, hitting the desk. Now he, too, was worrying about their unique-looking friends. He knew it was best to wait until they were away from their class mates to talk more about their situation, but he was itching to know more. Thankfully, it wasn't long before the bell sounded, releasing the students from their school day. April and Casey quickly grabbed their bags and made a bee line for the turtles' lair.
"Guys!" April called out urgently as she arrived at the entrance, with Casey close behind her.
"April?" Donnie said, coming out of his lab. "What's wrong?"
The other turtle brothers came into the room to greet their human friends, but were instantly aware that there was a problem. April told them what she knew about Abigail Finn and her reasons for being in New York.
"That is a problem," Leo agreed after hearing April's story. "Especially if she's going to be snooping in the sewers."
"So we just keep a better lookout when we leave the lair," Raph spoke up. "I don't see what the big deal is. If people think she's crazy, then they won't believe her even if she does see us."
"And if she captures us?" Donnie asked with a condescending tone.
"She won't," Raph spat back.
"And it's not just us, either," Leo added. "If she gets a hold on any of the other mutants, the secret would get out. And it will be a lot harder to stay hidden on the surface with the entire city scared and looking for mutants."
"So, what do we do?" Casey asked. "How do we get rid of her?"
"We could scare her out of the city!" Mikey chimed.
Raph hit him in the back of the head, "She's a monster hunter, doofus. What makes you think we can scare her?"
"It's worth a shot," April spoke up. "We just have to come up with something really scary."
"Or we could drop some mutagen on her and show her a mirror," Raph suggested with a hint of sarcasm. The others glared at him.
"That's a terrible idea, Raph," Donnie told him.
"No better than yours," was Raph's comeback.
"Be serious, Raph," Leo scolded. "We need to come up with a proper plan. We should also tell Master Splinter."
"Tell me what?" Their sensei asked as he overheard his sons' conversation while entering the room. The teens turned to face him before giving him an answer.
"There's a monster hunter in New York city," Leo explained. "And there's a good chance she'll be looking in the sewer."
"Hmm," Master Splinter stroked his beard as he pondered this information. "Do you have any ideas to remedy this problem?"
"We're gonna scare her out of the city," Mikey said proudly.
"We're going to try to," Leo corrected.
"Or at the very least, lure her away from the sewers," Don added.
"Actually, Donnie," April said, eyes lighting up. "Why not take it a step further and lure her out of the city?"
"Of course!" Don agreed. "If she's looking for a monster-"
"Then we give her one to follow," Leo finished. "Right out of the city."
"In the meantime, I'm going to disguise our entrance. Just in case she finds her way to this area," Don told them, and then jogged towards his lab. The others stayed back to brainstorm specifics for their plan. Master Splinter nodded, satisfied that his sons and their friends had the situation under control, and returned to his room for meditation.
...
"That's who was at the door this morning?" Kris asked after Kaitlyn mentioned the monster hunter's visit. "And she had nerve to ask for help."
"I know," Kaitlyn replied. Kris rolled his eyes and huffed out a profanity under his breath.
"I don't care how different our Uncle looks," Kris continued. "He's no monster. And only Johnny and I are allowed to tease him about his looks."
"Awe, how sweet," Kaitlyn teased as she opened the fridge, looking for a snack.
"Don't tell him I said that," Kris begged, taking out his homework and placing it on the kitchen table. "Oops."
"What did you do now?"
"I may have forgotten an assignment that's due tomorrow."
"Again?" Kaitlyn commented, washing off an apple. "Curious why the teachers don't absolutely love you."
"Shut up," Kris frowned.
"I finished all of today's work in class, so I'll be in my room talking to Mikey," Kaitlyn took a bite of her apple and began to walk off.
"Your internet pan pal? What if he turns out to be some kind of 'cat fish'?" Kris wondered, half joking.
"I'm pretty sure they fake romantic relationships, not friendships," Kaitlyn explained, and added quietly, "it has other names for that."
"Okay, so what if he turns out to be an actual catfish under water? Or something weirder?" Kris joked, giving a small chuckle.
"You're such a dork," Kaitlyn told him with a wave of her hand. Kris continued to chuckle to himself as he began attempting his school work. Kaitlyn went to her room, throwing away the core that remained from the apple when she got there. She opened up her window to let in a cool breeze, and then grabbed her laptop before hopping on the bed. She propped herself up against the backboard of her bed as her computer began to power up. She quietly surfed some other websites while she waited for Mikey to come online. Finally, a small ding was heard through her speakers.
Mikey Hamato has come online