Chapter 4

Next Stop: New York

Having ridden his skateboard back to the lair, Mikey entered through the concealed door and was greeted by Raphael.

"So, you're back, little brother. Had a good time?" Raphael asked.

"You bet, bro! Pulled off some awesome stunts in the tunnels. Next time we skate, I might just show you."

"Think you're king of the sewers, huh? You got an ego to match that mouth of yours, Mikey." Raphael chuckled.

"Is that so? Well, put your money where your mouth is, big bro, and we'll see who earns that crown."

"Oh, it will be my pleasure to put you in your place."

"That's enough, you two, no need to get aggressive." Monalisa said calmly, as she walked in on their conversation. "I'm sure you can settle this peacefully."

"You're right, sorry, big sis." said Michelangelo a bit sheepishly.

"Haven't seen you for a while, babe, what have you been doing? If I may ask." said Raphael.

"I've been on the phone with Sephie, we girls have certain things we like to discuss in private."

"Girl stuff, huh? Never understood that." said Michelangelo.

"It's probably best that way, but I do have some good news. Sephie and Tyroth will be visiting us this weekend." said Monalisa with a big smile.

"They are? Sweet! It's always fun when they are here." Michelangelo cheered.

"I'll say. They sure do enjoy paying us a visit every now and then." said Raphael. "Too bad that we can't visit them as often and easily."

"Yeah, Mutopia is such a lovely place, not to mention the wonderful people living there." said Monalisa. "We really should try and go there again."

"I'm down for that. But, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna take a shower." said Michelangelo and walked off. All the skating, and the incident with Shari, had made him a bit sweaty. But one thing was for sure, he didn't want to mention Shari to anyone yet, there was so much about it going on in his mind at the time, that he wanted to have some time to think about it first. Especially since he had felt that feeling when talking to her, the same feeling that Monalisa said was his desire for a mate.

But why did he feel that way for a human girl? They were about as different as they could be, and yet there was something about her that appealed to him for some reason. But even if she by some remote chance was 'the one', she was still a human and he was still a mutant, that doesn't really mix. However, there was always the magic well in Mutopia, that could turn her into a mutant, maybe Donatello or Tyroth could even do something to choose what animal she would become. He wouldn't mind if she became a cute turtle girl.

Shaking his head to get rid of the strange fantasies that started to form in his head, Michelangelo wasn't sure of what to do about it all. Maybe he should visit that girl again, just to make sure that she's okay at the very least.

Meanwhile, in Mutopia, Tyroth was laughing heartily after Sephie had told him about Monalisa's plan to see if Michelangelo and Kate could become mates.

"Honey, can you please take this seriously?" Sephie asked.

"I'm sorry, love, but Mikey and Kate? As a couple? That was just such an odd pairing, and a surprise, that I couldn't keep it together." said Tyroth, still laughing.

"If you react that way to surprises, then you will laugh yourself to death when I tell you that I'm pregnant." she said, making Tyroth almost choke on his laughter.

"What?! For real?!"

"Nope, just wanted you to stop laughing." Sephie said with a playful wink.

"Well, you succeeded, you tease."

"So, can we talk about it now then?"

"Yeah, sorry. Hmm, I'm not sure if I agree with Mona, but it's worth a shot. Kate does seem to have a soft spot for Mikey, and if he's after a girlfriend, then yeah, why not."

"Then the only real problem on our end is to find a good reason for Kate to come with us this weekend."

"That could prove to be quite the challenge. I know that the rest of the Knights would like to visit the turtles, but if we all go, Mona's plan might not work, because of how many we'll be."

"And if we only bring Kate, she'll know that something is going on. But I think that it would be best if we bring them there one at a time, we just need a good reason to pick Kate."

The couple was suddenly interrupted by screaming outside their room. Surprised and worried, they hurried out to see what was going on.

"I will fucking kill you, you pest!" they heard Kate yell, her voice filled with rage as she tried to catch Percy the grasshopper, who used his powerful legs to jump great distances to get away from the snake.

"Come on, can't you take a joke?" Percy said, and evidently, she couldn't.

"A joke?! I'll show you a joke, with a fucking good punchline!"

They weren't sure what had happened, but they couldn't have Kate kill Percy, even if he probably deserved it, so Tyroth and Sephie had to stop the snake and make her calm down. They did this by letting Tyroth block her way and throw his arms around her to hold her in place.

"Let me go! I'm gonna kill him!" she screamed.

"That's exactly why I won't let you go. Not until you've calmed down." said Tyroth as he held her in a firm iron grip.

"What has he done now?" Sephie asked.

"He placed plastic eyeballs in her soup." said Tyroth's sister, Amber the marine iguana, as she and the rest of the Knights arrived on the scene. "Scared us all out of our skins."

"No wonder she's mad, that would ruin anyone's meal." said Sephie. Then she got an idea, and looking at her mate, she saw that he had gotten the same idea. "You're thinking the same as me, aren't you, love?"

"I think I am. Percy! Get over here on the double!"

It was very reluctantly that Percy returned, but he knew that Tyroth was serious, though he kept a safe distance from Kate, who still tried to get out of Tyroth's arms.

"Okay, listen up guys." Sephie said. "Tyroth and I have been talking about this for a while, and you have all been wanting to come with us when we go to New York. Well, we're going there later this week, and we were thinking to let one of you come along."

"Only one of us? Why only one?" asked Jack the wolf.

"They don't have as much room as we do here, so all of us won't be able to get rooms of our own. If we could find another place to sleep nearby, a really safe place, then it wouldn't be any problem. But as it is now, only one of you will be able to come."

"So who is going with you then?" asked Heather the dragonfly.

"Well, after what just happened, I'm saying Kate here." said Tyroth, still holding on to her.

"What?! Why me?"

"You and Percy need to be kept separate until you've calmed down, and he'll be busy here, so you're the only one that can come with us."

"Um… how will I be busy?" Percy asked.

"After what you just pulled, I want you to scrub the floor of the entire village while we're gone. Twice."

"What?! You can't be serious! It was just a joke!"

"Doesn't matter, you need to learn when you might go too far. You will have a lot of time to think about it. Jack, Amber, keep an eye on him and make sure that he doesn't slack off, okay?"

"You got it, boss."

"Sure thing, brother. You can count on us."

"I think I'll call Mona again and tell her that we'll be coming early, as well as bringing an extra guest." said Sephie and walked back into her and Tyroth's room to make the call in private.

Once Kate had calmed down a little, and Percy was somewhere else, Tyroth let go of her. She was still very angry, but just thinking of not having to deal with that blasted grasshopper for almost a week, made her feel a little better and she could hardly wait.

Now it's pretty clear that Mikey has some form of feelings for Shari, despite only have met her just recently. How do you think this will play out? Especially now that Kate will travel to New York, as per the plan that Mona has set in motion.

Meanwhile, Percy has got some work ahead of him, but I think he deserves it, don't you? It's most likely kinder than anything Kate would have done.