Chapter 03: Lessons

A week had passed since Mittens had moved into her new home. Mikey had kept his promise and visited her every night after their patrol.

But somehow, he was still thinking about that night he had shown her her new home and how she had hugged him and rubbed her cheeks against his, how he had been surprised first, but then had closed his eyes and returned her caresses. Her purring was still lingering in his ears. Shell, he had been so dreamy when he had come home that night, his brothers had started teasing him about it, telling him that he was more zoned out than usual. It took him some time to realize they were actually teasing him, so they hadn't been so wrong after all.

He kept asking himself if that cheek-rubbing-thing might count as a kiss. Well, he knew he saw it as a kiss, but he wasn't so sure what it meant to Mittens. Maybe for her it was just something she did to people she liked. He had seen her "kissing" her owner like that. So maybe for her it was no big deal.

And when his thoughts reached that point he always sighed and then looked for some distraction. He went all Dr. Prankenstein on Raph twice (which ended in Raph chasing him through the lair as usual), and even helped Donnie in the lab just to have something to do.

But when he was with Mittens these thoughts somehow disappeared. Obviously, he had more important things to do than thinking negative thoughts when he was with her – like talking to her, teaching her all the things she needed to know to make her way around as a mutant – like where to go without running into humans, how to get there without being seen (although when it came to that Mittens was a natural; it might had something to do with her being a cat) and so on.

And "teaching" was quite the cue when it came to Mittens these days. They had found out that Mittens couldn't read nor write nor calculate, but now that she had to survive as a cat-mutant that was more human than cat in a world full of humans, those things were essential to her. So Mikey had asked Donnie and April for help. He had thought that Donnie as the brainiac of the team would make a great teacher, and April was very intelligent too. Plus, he had thought that maybe it would suit Mittens to have a female friend as well. Donnie and April had agreed, so now April was tutoring the cat-mutant in reading and writing after school, and Donnie was giving her math lessons every other day.

Mikey had been afraid that maybe Mittens could be too stubborn and proud to allow someone teaching her something, but on the contrary, Mittens was eager to learn as much as she could. She really was enjoying her lessons, and Donnie and April were smart enough to rely on positive reinforcement when it came to giving a cat-mutant lessons.

So when Mikey landed on the roof-top that night he could hear muffled voices from inside the toolshed which now was Mittens' home. He paused for a few moments and eavesdropped.

He could hear April say, "Very good, Mittens. One more line of a's and we are done for today."

And then the redhead added in a louder voice, "So that Mikey can come in!"

Mikey's eyes gaped in surprise, but then he entered the toolshed with a sheepish grin on his face.

"You got me!" he said to April.

The teenage girl answered with a smirk.

"Geez, your kunoichi skills really are getting better, April," Mikey added as he knelt down next to Mittens on the ground.

"Thanks," April answered.

Mittens had no desk in her home – the toolshed was too small for that. That was why they had brought her an old coffee table and some cushions so that she could do her homework while sitting on the floor. They had even added a small shelf to the toolshed's furniture.

"Look!" Mittens cried out to Mikey and held up a piece of paper on which she had written down all the letters of the alphabet in her spidery handwriting.

"Very good, Mittens!" Mikey said with a warm smile.

"She is a fast learner," April noted. "And she is superfast with reading. She can already read youngest readers' books."

When Mittens heard that she looked at Mikey with a proud grin.

Mikey patted her head for a moment. "I told you she's a clever cat."

And with that Mittens put the paper back on the coffee table, took her pencil and finished her last line of a's for that day. Mikey watched her, and when she was done, Mittens handed the piece of paper to April.

"Nicely done," April said. "Your handwriting is definitely getting better."

"Thank you, April!" Mittens grinned from ear to ear.

"Okay, that's it for today," April said and got up. "What are your plans now?"

"I'm gonna show Mittens how to get to the park without being seen," Mikey explained.

"Yes!" Mittens cheered. "I'm about to see trees! I love trees! But in my owner's neighborhood there were only a few, and they weren't climbing material at all."

April smiled. "I see. Well then, see you tomorrow, Mittens! Bye, Mikey!"

Mikey and Mittens waved at her, and when April had left the toolshed, Mikey turned to Mittens. The cat-mutant was looking at him expectantly.

"So you like my idea?"

A happy sounding "Meow!" was the answer.

Later that night Mittens was racing through the park, climbing up one tree, climbing down again, running to the next tree, climbing it half and jumping down, all in some sort of super-cat-speed, shrieking meows all the time.

"Mittens!" Mikey called her. "Keep it down a bit!"

"But I'm so excited!" Mittens cried out without stopping. "Trees, so many trees!"

"Alrighty then," Mikey answered. "If I can't stop you, I have to join you! BOOYAKASHA!" And with that he climbed up the next tree.

Little did they know that they were being observed. Some shadowy figure was standing in the park, far away enough to not being seen by Mikey or Mittens, but close enough to use the zoom of his camera to take some pictures of Mittens.

"So those Purple Dragons were right," he said. "There really is a cat-mutant running around in this neighborhood." He smiled for a second. "The boss is so gonna love this."

When Mikey came home later that night his brothers were gathered in the living room.

"Oh, look, who's back!" Raph called out with a grin when he spotted Mikey. "Enjoyed hanging out with your girlfriend?"

"No," Mikey answered. "I…I mean Mittens is not my girlfriend!"

"You're right. 'Catfriend' might be the right name," Raph said laughingly as he wrapped an arm around Mikey's shoulders and pulled him closer. "Did she kiss you?"

"No."

"Did you try to kiss her?"

"No."

"Why not? I guess she is quite hot for a flea bag."

Mikey looked at Raph, his eyes burning with anger as he violently released himself from Raph's grip. He just looked at Raph for one more moment in silence, before he turned around and left for his room.

Raph had never seen his little brother like that before and thus was a bit dumbfounded. He looked at Donnie and Leo.

"Think I overdid it?" he asked.

Donnie and Leo exchanged a glance before turning to Raph again and nodded in unison.

"Oops…," the red-clad turtle mumbled.

"As you can see now, mistress," the young man said, "the rumors were right. There really is a cat-mutant running around in New York City. And I think she is perfect for your plans."

"No, not perfect," a female voice answered. "But she has potential."

And with that she handed the pictures of Mittens she had been looking at back to the young man. "Bring her to me."

The next morning there was a silent knock on the door of Mikey's room, but whoever had knocked didn't wait for a response, but opened the door immediately and one second later, Raph popped his head in.

"You sick?" he asked. "It's already 8 o'clock."

"Leave me alone, Raph!" Mikey said in a muffled voice. The youngest turtle was lying on his bed and had pressed his face on his pillow.

"Oh, come on, Mikey!" Raph said and entered the room. "You aren't still mad at me, are you?"

"Go away!"

Raph went over to Mikey's bed and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I'm sorry, bro," he said silently. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just teasing you. You know, like I always do."

Mikey took a deep breath and sat up. He hadn't even put on his mask yet. "Doesn't mean it hurts less."

"Sorry." Raph placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "I struck a nerve, huh?"

Mikey lowered his eyes. "Maybe."

"You know I'm not really good at handing out advice – I guess none of us is when it comes to romance – but if you wanna talk, I'm here to listen."

Mikey looked at his older brother for a moment. "Thanks, Raph."

"Anytime." Raph squeezed Mikey's shoulder a little before he reached for Mikey's mask which was placed on the skateboard near his bed as usual.

"So, do you think you could make breakfast or do you want the others and me turn the kitchen into a battlefield again?" he asked with a smirk as he handed Mikey his mask.

"Heck, no!" Mikey burst out, grabbed his mask and put it on while darting out of his room.

Raph watched him with a smile before he followed him at a leisurely pace.

When Mikey arrived at Mittens' that night, he found a note pinned to the door of the toolshed.

"Meet me at the park – Mittens" written in the cat-mutant's spidery, warped handwriting, he read. With a smile he took the note. Then he made his way to the park.

Mittens was waiting for her friend at the park, standing under a tree. She was so proud of herself! She had written the first note of her life! A whole sentence! Not just letters, but a whole sentence! Okay, April had pre-written it for her and she had written it off, but still! That was so amazing! She grinned when she imagined Mikey's face when he found the note. He must have been so surprised. And proud, of course.

Her ears twitched when she heard leaves rustling and she turned to the direction the noise came from.

"Mikey?" she asked joyfully. "Is that you?"

But whoever stepped out into the moonlight made Mittens' eyes widen in horror. The cat-mutant hissed and then took flight.

Some time had passed as Mittens pressed her back against a tree. She was so thankful for her black fur right now, though her white markings could still give her away. She could hear her haunter's footsteps, damped by the soft grass, the rustling of leaves, the breaking of twigs as they were searching the brushwood for her. The beams of their flashlights were dancing through the darkness like some really big fireflies.

Mittens held her tongue not to scream out in fear. She was so scared! What did they want? Kill her? Capture her? She had seen the nets some of them were carrying, but others had some guns with them. So this could either mean they wanted to capture her alive or kill her. But she sure didn't want to wait to find out.

She took a deep breath before she ran over to the next tree for cover.

When Mikey arrived at the park he stood rooted to the ground for a second before he quickly climbed a tree to hide. What were all these people doing here? There were like twenty of them there, and they seemed to be looking for something. Or someone. Mikey spotted some nets and guns.

"Mittens…," he mumbled worriedly before he took out his T-phone.

Moments later Donnie's T-phone rang. The purple-clad turtle picked up.

"Hey, Mikey! What's going on?" he asked.

"Mittens is in trouble," Mikey whispered.

"Could speak up a little, Mikey?" Donnie asked. "I can't hear you."

"No, I can't," Mikey whispered back. "There are so many people here at the park, and I think they are looking for Mittens. Donnie, you have to locate her T-phone! I have to find her!"

"Let me repeat that," Donnie said. "You want me to locate Mittens' T-phone because there are some people looking for her at the park and you have to get her out of there, right?"

"Right," Mikey confirmed. "Hurry!"

And with that he hang up.

Donnie started typing something on his T-phone while running out of his lab.

"Guys!" he called his brothers. "I think Mikey and Mittens are in trouble!"

Mikey jumped to the next tree, holding his T-phone in one hand. He looked at it again.

"Okay, this red, blinking dot is supposed to be Mittens, I guess," he whispered to himself. "And this is..." – he looked around – "where exactly?"

He scanned his surroundings hectically. The panic he might be late to save Mittens made his heart pound.

Then a movement caught his eye. A shadowy figure darted out of the brushwood, a shadowy figure on all fours, with a tail and cat's eyes.

"Mittens!" Mikey cried out. He didn't think about being quiet any longer. Not when he saw that five men were following Mittens, and especially not, when one of them drew his gun.

"Thanks, red dot!" Mikey mumbled. "But I don't need you any longer!" And with that he jumped.

Mittens was running for her life. She knew they had encircled her, so all she could think of was seeking refuge in attack. She had jumped out of her hiding place, overran one of her haunters and then simply ran as fast as she could.

She didn't think of where she was headed, all she could think of was running. The next thing she knew was that she was out in the open. There were no trees on the grassland where she could hide. And the next moment she felt a burning sting in her right upper arm, but she kept running, until her sight got blurry and she hit the ground. She sat up and looked around her, but couldn't see anything but a few shadowy figures, and their voices sounded muffled. She couldn't understand a single word, only watch how more and more shadowy figures encircled her. Someone threw a net over her, but she felt too weak to shake it off. Suddenly she felt very, very dizzy. She shook her head hoping that this would make the dizziness somehow disappear, but on the contrary made it worse. The voices of her haunters were even more muffled now and sounded like some rustling of leaves or the murmur of the wind.

But suddenly her ears twitched as she heard a sound she would always recognize.

"BOOYAKASHA!"

And then she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.

Her claws dug into the earth as she forcefully tried to stay awake. All she could hear were these muffled noises and then someone pulled the net away, picked her up and ran.

For a moment she thought of struggling or at least trying to do so, but something felt familiar about this someone. And when her sensitive nose could detect his smell, she knew for sure that it was Mikey. And knowing that made her feel safe. She knew they were in danger, she knew they could still be captured, but knowing that she was no longer alone, that she didn't have to face this threat all by herself, made her relax. Everything was going to be alright, was the last thought that crossed her mind before the tranquilizer finally took effect and she drifted off to sleep.

Mikey was running as fast as he could, trying to leave behind their haunters. But given the fact that he was carrying an unconscious Mittens he sure could need a miracle right now. He had already left the park because it was too crowded with enemies there. He thought of going underground for a second, but he simply didn't have the time to put Mittens down, lift the manhole cover, grab Mittens again and get underground. Their haunters were too close.

So all that was left was the miracle.

"One tiny miracle, please!" he begged.

And the moment he said that he could hear the roar of an engine and brake squeal behind him. He quickly looked over his shoulder and sighed in relief when he realized the Shellraiser had entered the scene.

"And here comes my miracle," he said with a grin.

"Get Mittens inside the Shellraiser!" Leo commanded as he and Raph jumped out of the Shellraiser and lunged at their haunters. "We'll hold them off!"

Mikey nodded and quickly ran over to the vehicle. Donnie was waiting for him at the backdoor and helped him getting Mittens inside. When they were done Donnie called over to his brothers, "Time to go!"

The two of them nodded and wanted to get back, and while Leo reached the Shellraiser in no time, a brawny guy grabbed Raph from behind. The red-clad turtle kicked the guy in the shin and once his opponent loosened his grip Raph reached back, grabbed him by the collar and flicked him over his shoulder. The moment he did that he could hear something clang, but didn't care what it was. The guy hit the ground hard – enough time for Raph to make his way back to the Shellraiser.

It was only when he had taken up his station again that he realized he was holding something in his hand. He must have grabbed it when he had flicked the guy over his shoulder, some small golden, gemmed plate. He shoved it under his belt. Maybe they would need it later.

Back in the driver's seat Leo stepped on it. He took some sharp turns until he was sure they had left their haunters behind which wasn't so hard if you kept in mind they were on foot, but you could never be too sure.

Back at the lair they brought Mittens into Donnie's lab where they placed her on the examination table. The cat-mutant was still asleep.

"Why won't she wake up?" Mikey asked, a concerned look on his face.

"I will figure it out, no worries, Mikey," Donnie answered as he took out the dart from Mittens' upper arm and did some tests.

"Just some tranquilizer," Donnie explained once he was done. "It will give her a headache when she wakes up, but no permanent damage."

Mikey let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Donnie."

"You're welcome."

Mikey pushed a chair over to the examination table and sat down, looking at his friend.

"Why would anyone be after Mittens?" Leo asked.

Mikey shrugged without taking his eyes away from Mittens. "Dunno."

"Maybe this can help," Raph said and put out the golden plate. He showed it to his brothers. "I accidentally grabbed that from one of our opponents during the fight. It's not much, but it's all we have."

Donnie took the plate and had a closer look at it. "The workmanship is unusual. I'll do some research. Maybe I can find something that will help us. But it could take a while."

"What about Mittens?" Mikey asked.
"What about her?" Leo asked back. "We wait till she wakes up and then you bring her home."

Mikey looked at him and shook his head. "That's not what I meant. There are some crazy dudes after her, and Mittens is pretty much defenseless."

"Last time I checked she knew a lot about scratching," Raph answered, referring to the time when they had to hold her down so that Donnie could treat her wound.

"We can't send her back home when someone is trying to capture her!"

"But she can't stay with us, Mikey!" Leo answered. "We're done with that!"

"But someone is trying to capture her!"

"What about we teach her how to defend herself?" Donnie suggested. "I'm already teaching her mathematics, so I won't do another teaching job, and given the fact you two are way better fighters than Mikey and I, how about we leave this job to the A-team?" He grinned at the last part.

"No way I'm gonna show this flea bag how to fight!" Raph gave back.

"Hold it, Raph," Leo said. "Donnie has a point. Try to see it this way: If Mittens learns how to defend herself, we won't have to rescue her all the time."

Raph grumbled something no-one could understand. "Fine!" he finally said. "But if this flea bag isn't doing what I tell her to do, she is gonna regret it." And with that he stomped out of the lab.

"Think we should tell him that you can't teach cats anything by force?" Donnie asked.

"Nah," Leo waved aside, "it's going to be way more fun this way."

The three brothers shared a smile.

"YOU FAILED?!" a female voice cried out in anger and a slender shadow fell upon the man who was kneeling in front of her.

"I'm sorry, mistress!" he said in a shaking voice. "But it wasn't the cat alone. There were those turtles. They protected her!"

"I am not interested in your turtles! I want the cat!"

"We will bring her to you, mistress! I promise!"

"Of course you will." The voice now was calm, but had a threatening undertone to it. "You know what will happen to you if you don't. My pets are always hungry."

The man looked to the side where three lions – a male and two female ones to his sides – were chained to the wall. They were lying on the ground, but had set eyes on the man. The male yawned and showed his white sharp teeth.

The man gulped and looked back to his mistress who now grinned at him devilishly.

The next night after their patrol Mikey showed up at Mittens' like he always did. The cat-mutant was lying on the couch lazily, but when Mikey entered she jumped to her feet ran over to him and gave him a quick hug. "Mikey!"

"Hey there, Mittens, how are you?" the youngest turtle-brother asked.

"I'm fine. My head still hurts a little, but that's okay," she answered as she guided Mikey over to the couch.

"I'm glad they didn't get you."

"Me too," Mittens answered. "Thanks for saving me again."

"You're welcome again."

The two shared a look, silent for a moment, looking into each other's eyes before Mikey cleared his throat.

"I…I brought you something," Mikey stammered and handed Mittens a children's book.

Mittens gasped and looked at the book in her paws. "Thank you, Mikey!"

"Think we can read it together?"

Mittens nodded eagerly and sat down on the couch. She put her feet on the coffee table and pulled up her knees so that she could place the book on her thighs and opened it. Mikey moved a little closer, his cheek nearly touching her head, and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Once upon a time, there was a little red hen who lived on a farm. She was friends with a lazy dog, a sleepy cat, and a noisy yellow duck," Mittens started reading.

A little smile appeared on Mikey's face. Okay, he still didn't know if Mittens felt anything more than friendship for him, and yes, he still had no idea who was after her, but at this moment as he had her close to him he couldn't care less. This moment was precious. At this moment his life was simply perfect.