Chapter 3

Arranging a Meeting

The next night, Michelangelo was feeling a little better after having talked to Monalisa and gotten an explanation to the strange feeling in his stomach, though that gave rise to a new problem, his so called 'desire' for a girlfriend. He was at a bit of a loss on what to do, Monalisa thought that he should get a girlfriend if he wanted to, but that was just the thing, he didn't know if he did or not.

He still had that feeling, the longing for a mate, but he wasn't sure what to do about it. There were a lot of female mutants in Mutopia, including some reptile ones, so he wasn't without options. His mind was a bit of a mess, more so than usual, making heads or tails of the things going through it was far from easy. He hadn't told anyone about it either, other than Monalisa that is, not even Splinter or Leonardo.

Growing tired of it, and bored, he decided to do something else and grabbed his skateboard, hoping that a ride through the sewers would clear his head.

As he walked to the exit, he was approached by Leonardo.

"Hey, Mikey. What are you doing?" the blue-masked turtle asked.

"Just gonna go skating in the sewers for a while. Need to keep these skills sharp, you know."

"If only you showed the same side as often while training." Leonardo chuckled.

"Sorry, bro, but everyone's got their own talent." Michelangelo said with a smile.

"True enough. Just be careful, alright?"

"You got it."

As Michelangelo left the lair, Monalisa saw him go and thought about what they had talked about the night before. She had said that she wouldn't choose Michelangelo's mate for him, but she never said anything about not helping him find her. Just the thought of setting her adoptive little brother up with someone, without him knowing, made her excited, it was so sneaky. Going to her room, she lay down on her stomach in the bed and picked up her shell-cell, dialing a number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Sephie. It's Mona."

"Hey, Mona! How are you?"

"I'm just fine, thank you. Listen, are you and Tyroth planning on visiting us any time soon?"

"Funny that you'd ask that, I was just thinking of calling you and ask if we could."

"Of course you can, Sephie. The two of you are always welcome here. When do you think you'll arrive?"

"By the weekend I'd say. Got a few things to take care of before we can leave."

"Great, can't wait to see you guys again. There is one more thing though, and I really shouldn't gossip or anything, but I can't help it about this."

"You sure sound excited. What's going on, Mona?"

"You are not gonna believe this, but… Mikey's started having urges for a mate!"

"What?! Mikey?! No way! He wants a girlfriend?! I did not see that coming."

"It came as a surprise to him as well, but as you might have guessed, there isn't a lot of possibilities for him around here, so I was thinking..."

"I think I know where this is going."

"I remember that Kate had taken quite a liking to him, so I was wondering if maybe she could come with you. I think that they could become quite the couple if all goes well, but we won't know unless we try. Besides, she's never visited us before, might be fun for her to go somewhere new."

"Yeah, I've noticed that too, but Kate and Mikey? I don't know about that, I mean, Kate's more or less a female Raph, but then again, you managed to soften him up, so why not. I'll talk with Tyroth about it, if that's okay with you, Mona?"

"Sure, I trust that he'll understand. And also, I'm sure you know this, but, don't tell Kate. I just want her and Mikey to be near each other and see what happens, not force them. I won't tell Mikey, of course."

"Alright, 'li'l sis', we'll see you to the weekend then."

"Did you just call me 'li'l sis'?"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. Sonia has been calling you my 'step-sister', she knows that we aren't related, but since you said that we were like sisters, we became step-sisters, much like Tyroth became her uncle. It's just too cute, so I can't tell her otherwise."

"Aww. You're right, that's just cute. Sonia sure is a ray of sunshine. It would be fun to see her again."

"Then it's your turn to visit us next time, Mona."

"Don't mind if we do. See you this weekend, Sephie. Bye."

While Monalisa and Sephie talked, Mikey was speeding down a sewer tunnel on his skateboard, jumping and doing various kinds of tricks. After a while, he stopped for a quick break.

"Skater Ace Michelangelo is only halfway through the course, and already it's clear that he'll break the world record!" he said, imagining himself as a superstar. But his fantasy came to an abrupt end, when he heard screams coming from above.

Looking up, he saw a ladder leading to a manhole, the screams came from the other side of the lid. Worried, and a bit reluctant, the orange-masked turtle climbed the ladder and pushed up the cover just enough to be able to see, and he didn't like what he saw.

Two thugs, one with a red mohawk and a leather vest, the other was bald and only wore a pair of worn jeans and boots, they had cornered a young woman in the dark alley, who was screaming for help in vain as no-one was around to hear it.

No-one, except Michelangelo. He knew fully well what the two thugs wanted with the woman, they planned on raping her, just like those bastards that ruined Monalisa's life did with her. While normally a happy and carefree person, that was something that made even Michelangelo furious.

Moving the lid aside, he swiftly exited the manhole, obscured by the shadows, and moved to attack. Meanwhile, the bald thug had caught the woman in a headlock and held her tightly, covering her mouth, while the one with the mohawk pulled a Bowie knife from his belt and held it against her clothes, smirking viscously.

"You're awfully overdressed, babe. Let's see what treasures you hide under those clothes!"

But before he was able to do anything, Michelangelo made his move and struck the thug hard in the head from behind, knocking him out with one blow. The bald thug was shocked over how easily his comrade had been defeated, while the woman started to feel a little bit of hope. Yet none of them could see who the attacker were, as he still hid in the shadows.

"Attacking girls is not cool."

"Who are you?! Show yourself, or I'll snap this bird's neck!"

The thug nervously looked around, but couldn't see anything, until a shadow leaped at him, and a foot hit his face, making him loose his grip on the woman and fall backwards, getting knocked unconscious when he hit the ground. Standing over him, Michelangelo wanted to make sure that he was out cold, but that was not the best idea.

"You saved me! Thank you so much!" the young woman half cried as she threw her arms around Michelangelo from behind. Then the both of them just froze, he when he was hugged, and she when she felt his reptilian skin and shell. It took a short while before any of them could figure out what to do.

After a short while, the woman let go of the turtle and took a step back, finally seeing how he looked. Michelangelo started to sweat, he wasn't supposed to be seen, and now he had even been hugged. Right when he regained his senses and tried to hurry to the manhole, the woman grabbed his arm.

"Wait! Please don't go!" she said. "At least let me see who, and what, that saved me. Please?"

Michelangelo hesitated, he really should disappear immediately, but there was something that kept him from it, something that compelled him to stay. Slowly, and nervously, he turned around so that they faced each other.

She was in her early mid-twenties, had short almost spiky black hair and green eyes. Wearing a red top under a white jacket, and a pair of jeans.

"Wow… you're a… turtle." she said as she took in his appearance.

"Um… yeah… I'm a turtle… a mutant turtle."

"A mutant? How-"

"It's a long story, and it'll get longer if I tell you. Plus, I really should get going."

"Wait, before you go, can I at least get to know your name?"

"It's Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey."

"Mikey, what a nice name. I'm Shari, by the way." she said with a faint blush.

"Nice meeting you, Shari, but I really have to go now." said Michelangelo as he started to climb down the manhole.

"Will I ever see you again?" Shari asked.

"Well, maybe, I mean, I'm out most nights you see."

"Then, maybe we can meet again. My apartment is a couple of blocks south of here. I could stand on the roof for a while tomorrow night, and if you see me, you could… stop by so I can thank you properly." she said, her blush growing more intense.

"Uh… sure, I'll… do that… maybe." said Michelangelo, also blushing a bit.

Once he had pulled the cover back in place, he grabbed his skateboard and hurried back home, while Shari left the alley in a haste with the same goal in mind. Both having the other in their thoughts.

So, while Mona scheme with Sephie to potentially bring Mikey and Kate together, the turtle in question have just rescued a damsel in distress, and they seem to... I don't know, you be the judge of that.

Find out more in the next chapter.

Also, be sure to check out my Ghost Master fic, 'Sunshine Valley Horror, Halloween Special', now with character art on my Diviantart page, all accessible from my profile. :)