Cornered

A few hours after Leo, Raph, Mikey, and Casey had left the lair to carry out their search for the mutagen canisters, Donnie had called his brothers to tell them that he had got a lead on the culprit in the convenience store. He had concluded that the DNA found in the fur he gathered indeed belonged to a squirrel-like rodent, and he even found human DNA mixed within it and assumed that someone else had fallen victim to mutagen-caused transformation. But because of the mutagen mutated DNA mixed within, he couldn't uncover who the human was or if was a man or woman. Wanting to return back to the crime scene, Donnie had joined up with his brothers to help further investigate the scene.

"Alright, so we know that this thing used to be human. But why hasn't he, or she, gone to the police?" Raph asked as he put his hands on his hips, looking around the store with a frown.

"Maybe they were scared." Leo assumed.

Donnie was outside, looking towards the line of apartments across the street and frowning in thought. The buildings were dark, and he knew that they'd been abandoned for a while now. "The mutant left the store and went this way, as from what the partial of the screen looked. Maybe he lives in one of those abandoned apartments."

"It would make sense," Casey mused as he followed the brainiac outside. "I wouldn't want to show my ugly face after it was mutated either!"

"I would say it makes more sense for him to want to hide from people because of fear, Casey." Donnie rolled his eyes as he already began following Leo and the others towards the abandoned apartment complex. As they entered the first floor, they realized just how eerie the place felt and hose dark the atmosphere was. These apartments had been abandoned long ago for reconstruction, but the construction workers hadn't come back to start their work due to mechanical problems with their machine.

"Wow… This is so freaky!" Mikey whispered in awe as he leaned towards a mess of cobwebs with tiny spiders in the corner of the room. "It's just like a scene in my vampire comic! Cobwebs, dusty furniture, darkness! It feels just like a vampire is about to-," he then paused, thought for a second, and then realized that he was alone in the room before he hurried off to catch up with his brothers. "Hey! Wait up!"

Leo, flashlight in hand, shined the yellow orb up the stairs as the group slowly crept up the steps, careful not to trip over anything in the darkness. They arrived at the second floor, and Donnie took out his mutagen tracer as they opened the door to the first room they came to. The mutagen tracer immediately started acting up, spinning quickly in fast movements when he stuck his arm in.

"In here," he whispered as he motioned to his brothers, and they entered with caution, not sure what to completely expect. They knew that they were up against a squirrel of a good size, but they didn't know what kind of abilities that it possibly had or how strong it was, how aggressive it was because of the squirrel nature or how smart with the human DNA.

The room's paint-withering walls were a faded blue as well as the rugged carpet that was rough on their feet. There was an old white leather couch that was torn and aged to the point of turning brown, and there was a recliner that was broken already, lying back on the ground with the seat facing up. The book shelves were empty, only two or three old, dusty books lying sprawled on the floor. The curtains on the windows were tattered and were just enough to shield the room from light. The mirror across the room was broken into was seemed like a million pieces. It occurred to the group that the mutant must have lived here, for just like the store keeper had said on the news there was a duffle bag full of snacks and drinks under the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Home sweet home…" Raph mused lightly, the corner of his lip turning up in slight amusement as he eyed the room.

Casey was wandering off to the center of the room, approaching the couch and putting a hand on it distractingly as his eyes roamed the room's interior. "Heh, looks like a… place for rats…" But he then felt the couch shift and he frowned as he turned his attention to the piece of furniture. He looked over the back of it and saw the pile of blankets, or one blanket actually, moving. He then grabbed the edge of the blanket, and jerked it abruptly back to reveal a pair of equally wide, glossy, black-brown eyes and a furry round face and perked ears.

"AHHHH!" Both Casey and the squirrel screamed as he threw the blanket back onto the creature and raced to the turtles to hide behind them. The turtles all got their weapons ready and narrowed their whitened eyes at the couch as the blanket suddenly hurled itself off onto the floor and began to thrash around as the animal within it was tangled.

"Be ready, guys…" Leo said, but then the creature emerged from the blanket, and in a daze and panic it rushed blindly towards them. But when it realized what was standing in front of it, it shrieked in an almost human-like voice and spun around and darted to the corner, curling up with its legs sprawled as it realized that it was trapped. Its chest heaved as it stared up at the turtles and human with wide, fearful eyes, its large black pupils darting back and forth between each character. Around its neck was a pink bandana, like the store keeper had mentioned.

"This must be the crook…" Mikey murmured as he looked at it. Then he smiled. "Aww, he's so cute!"

"Calm down, giant squirrel…" Leo said carefully as held his swords up, not in a way of an offensive stand, but in case the squirrel decided to attack, and he needed to be prepared to defend himself. "We aren't going to hurt you. Donnie, you have the tranquilizer?"

Donnie nodded slowly as he came to Leo's side, taking the dart in his hand along with the tube he intended to blow the dart through. "Yeah… Be easy, he's only acting on instinct."

The creature's eyes widened and for a moment it seemed to be faltering with its feet, trying to find an escape route between the turtles. But seeing none, it backed up into the corner again, and seemed to be in an almost human-like crouching pose, its tail wrapped around it in a way of shielding itself. Its ears flattened, the squirrel's nose twitched as it let out a raspy chatter-like sound. Its fur bristled as it flattened its head and hissed.

"Put it out! PUT IT OUT!" Casey cried frantically, still hiding around the turtles.

The squirrel's haunches tensed as it was about to take a lunge. But Donnie's dart hit the creature in the flank before it had a chance to leap towards a possible escape way, and instantly it began to show signs of fatigue. Its eyes began to close, and its muscles seemed to become less tense as it tried to stand on its hind legs, putting a hand on its flank to inspect the dart's red feathered tail. Soon, the squirrel succumbed to the sleepy feeling and flopped onto the ground, letting out a pitiful groan in the process.

"Wow… That went better than I had thought." Raph commented when all went quiet, bringing everybody out of their trance as they stared at the silent, down creature. Donnie cautiously crept to it, kneeling down and putting a hand on its shoulder, shaking it slightly to test if it was completely sedated. When the animal didn't make any move or noise, he gave his brothers a thumbs up.

"He's out. We'll need to get him back to my lab for inspection."

"Well, what are we waiting for, then? Let's pack 'em up and take 'em!" Raph exclaimed as he walked over and, with the help of Donnie lifting the head, picked the posterior end of the animal up.

Casey whimpered as he pointed a finger at the creature in the two turtles' arms, grateful that his frightened face was hidden behind his mask. "You mean that you're gonna take that thing to the lair?!"

"Casey, he's not a thing, it used to be a normal human being!" Donnie said as he carefully secured the squirrel's head and shoulders in his arms. "And yes, we need to take him back to the lair to keep him safe."

Casey hated the thought of having another… rat, in the lair. Not that he didn't like Splinter, he just had his phobia of rats, and a squirrel much resembled a rat with many characteristics that were similar. But he also knew that this creature used to be a human just like him, and that he needed help. So the teenage boy sighed in dread as he followed his comrades out the door and down the stairs on their way back to the lair.

The Next Day, 10:47 am…

When Abigale opened her eyes, she was blinded by the bright light of the TV. Her whole body felt sore, especially her leg, and when she touched it gently she felt that the area of pain was swollen. Cringing, she tried to sit up to look around at her surroundings. Propping herself up on a pillow that she had been laying on, she wiped her eyes before looking around at the large room that she was in. She seemed to be in a square-shaped dip in the concrete floor where there was pillows and a beanbag nearby, a TV set in front of her where a… animal sat in front of her. She frowned, her nose twitching in confusion.

"Oh hey, he's up." A voice caught her attention and she turned to look beside her a few feet away down the bench-like structure, where a green figure with a red mask over his eyes sat with a magazine in his hand. He eyed her with lime-green eyes as his magazine was lowered into his lap.

A turtle? Abigale blinked, wondering if she was hallucinating, her already widened eyes narrowing as she saw the figure in front of the TV turn around to reveal that he too was a turtle. He was wearing a blue mask over his eyes, and he had blue eyes instead of green.

"Oh, good! Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked hurriedly, hoping to calm her down as he could see her fur bristling up. She gasped in panic as she scrambled to stand up, to get away from the possible threat. Her animal instincts kicking in, she leapt from the seat and over it, frantically racing away from the turtles.

"Well, hello to you, too." Raph huffed, and Leo shot him a warning glare.

She looked over her shoulder, but then she ran head-first into something hard and she grunted as she fell backwards. After she shook her head to clear it, she looked up at the taller figure that was standing above her, another turtle with a purple mask and brown eyes, wearing a worried expression.

"Hey, calm down! Don't hurt yourself!" he tried to put a hand on her shoulder, but in her panic she flipped over onto her feet and scurried off, feeling her claws scrape against the concrete ground as she heaved air in an out of her chest. But before she got too far, she was suddenly grabbed up by someone and the front half of her body was lifted unexpectedly off the ground, a pair of arms wrapped around her under her arms.

"Aww! It's okay, little guy! You're safe now!" When she looked up at her capturer, she shrieked when she once again saw ANOTHER turtle, this time with an orange mask and bright happy blue eyes with a wide smile across his green face.

Unconsciously using her claws, she gripped his arms and wriggled out of his grasp by kicking her legs, causing him to yelp in surprise and pain before he dropped her abruptly and she sprinted off in the opposite direction on all fours once again. Raph and Leo gasped and raced to their brother's side in concern, along with Donnie to check on Mikey's scratches on his arms. Raph grumbled and took out his Sai and twirled them in his hands a few times before marching off to the direction that the squirrel mutant ran.

Mikey's eyes widened. "Don't hurt him! He didn't mean it, he was just scared!"

Raph huffed in agitation. "He's about to be terrified once I get a hold of him!"

"But he ran into the dojo!" Leo pointed out, wondering how it went when the creature met Splinter.

In the dojo, Splinter was standing at the base of the tree looking up at it when Raph and his brothers walked in. Calmly, he turned his gaze to his sons and observed Raph's anger and Mikey's small, partially bleeding wounds on his arm, which he didn't seem to mind. Leo and Donnie were looking at their sensei in curiosity while Mikey looked up in worry at the tree.

"Is he okay?" Mikey asked.

Splinter nodded. "She. Yes, she is alright. She is just frightened."

"Oh!" Mikey gasped, smiling brightly. "She's a girl!"

"Yes. She came in here and was hesitant on deciding where to go. She then ran up this tree, and hasn't made any sound since." Splinter, hands clasped behind his back, turned his attention back up the tree. "Poor girl, she is frightened of all of this that is happening. Raphael, you shouldn't show such anger right now. You will only encourage her to be afraid."

Raph was about to protest, but then he sighed and grumbled under his breath, sticking his Sai back into his belt. "Yes, Sensei…"

"Do you think we can get her down?" Leo asked, straining his neck to look up at the dark shadows of the tree limbs, unable to see her in the branches. He wondered how in the world she got into the tree so fast.

Splinter sighed softly as he gazed up at the tree branches, listening to the mutated girl's irregular heartbeat that only he could hear, as well as her rapid breathing. "I wouldn't advise trying to move her right now. I think it would only cause her to be more afraid. Leave her be for now, let her become used to her surroundings. She'll come down in time, she just needs the time to cope."

Abigale listened to the voices below her at the base of the tree, but her mind was too blurred to make out their words. Her heart pounded in her chest as she clung to the tree branch with her sharp claws, feeling as they scribbled against the bark when she shifted her back feet. Trying to slow down her swirling mind and calm her now aching heart, she took slow, shaky breaths while leaning her cheek against the branch, her fur cushioning her against the rough surface of the tree's 'skin'. Where was she? Why was she here? Who were these strange people? She allowed her animal instincts for only a mere moment to help take in her surroundings. The scent of the place wasn't very pleasant, and there was a pool that led into a drain in the previous room that she was in a minute ago. She couldn't possibly be in the sewers? It sure smelled like it. But she noticed that this place, now that she got to calm her mind, was quite warm and more soothing than the lonely apartment complex that she'd been living in. But these people here, or… creatures, animals, turtles and rats! They were walking like they were human and talking to each other, having human conversations. Were they in the same predicament that she was? Were they all once human and were without a home?

Then she noticed just how tired she was. The adrenaline in her system was wearing off, and she began to feel fatigued again as she yawned. As she listened as the turtles left the room, she began to feel more secure with less people in the room. With the sounds fading, she blinked rapidly, slowly falling asleep on the branch.

In the Donnie's lab, a certain orange-masked turtle was having his arms treated by the older purple-masked brother with ointment and bandages. Donnie was wrapping his left arm at that moment, being careful not to wrap his arm too tightly.

"You really shouldn't have tried to hug her, Mikey." Donnie was saying to his younger brother. "You knew that she was panicked."

Mikey shrugged as he looked back up at the older turtle with disappointed eyes. "I just thought that a hug would make her feel better…"

Donnie sighed, nodding in understanding. "Well, fortunately she's not an actually squirrel that's been mutated, or I would have to have given you a rabies shot."

Mikey's eyes widened for a mere moment before he breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh… yeah…"

"Well, luckily these scratches weren't too bad. You're lucky that she only wanted to get away, instead of attack you." Donnie huffed as he finished the bandages, patting his brother on the shoulder before getting up and returning to his work on his gadgets.

Mikey sighed as he stood up, moving his arms around a little before turning to exit the lab. Leo and Raph had gone to take a morning nap since they all had a rough night and he guessed, since he suddenly yawned and his eyes were half-lidded, that maybe he should take a nap himself. It would do him some good anyway. He looked back in the lab at Donnie, and he supposed that the brainiac was just going to stay up and work, as usual.

He wandered off toward the direction of his room, already stretching as he started to pass the dojo. But then he paused in mid-step, backing up and peeking into the dojo. He stared at the large tree for a long while, wondering if that girl, or… squirrel, was really okay up there all alone. He worried that she might have been cold up there. He knew that her fur probably provided her with enough heat, but even he knew that loneliness could make the world feel colder than what it really was. He remembered the look in her eyes when he had first gotten a good look at them. For even a mere second he could see the fear and confusion when he had held her before, and he knew right before she had clawed at him that she was desperate to be in a safe place.

He then thought for a minute, and smiled as he turned and went to his room. He grabbed his blanket and a pillow and rushed back to the dojo. He knew that he had to be quiet, because Splinter was asleep in a room that was part of the dojo, only separated by a thin wall. He entered the dojo as quietly as he could and crept to the base of the tree. Looking back and forth for any onlookers and seeing none, he took a deep breath and leapt up into the tree, blanket on his shoulder and pillow under his arm as he used his free arm to hoist himself up into the branches. For a moment he searched for her, and then he spotted her brown-grey fur curled up against the trunk of the tree, letting the branches around her almost form like a cradle for her as she lied there in silence. Her tail curled over and covered her face, her back against the tree.

"Um… H-Hi?" he said softly, and instantly her head rose and she eyed him up and down, her ears perked and her brown-black eyes locked onto his every movement as he slowly waved at her, a timid smile on his face. "I… Hi… um… I... brought you these. I… thought that you might be cold. I'm Mikey. What's… your name?"

She remained silent as she stared at him intently, her ears twitching when he had spoken, but flattened when he hushed to hear her answer. But she never answered, and he felt his heart sink a little in disappointment as he sighed and sat the pillow and blanket down on a larger branch near her, keeping in mind how she watched every movement that he made.

"Well… here… I hope it's enough… But you are fluffy and all, so… Just in case, though." He patted the blanket and pillow, and when she made no move for them, he smiled. "They're nice and soft… See?" he rubbed the cottony surface of the blanket. When she still remained motionless, he sighed again and shrugged. "Well… Goodnight… Hope ya have… sweet dreams…"

Her eyes followed him as he slowly, carefully, turned away and disappeared out of the tree. Once she heard the bump of his feet against the ground, she slowly leaned forward to look over the branches to see what he was doing. But he was leaving, in fact he was already walking out of the room. She tilted her head in thought for a moment, her ears flattening against her head as she looked to the blanket and pillow. With this fur, it was too hot for her to cover up with anything, at least in this room anyway since it was much warmer than the apartment she was in. But… the bark of this tree was starting to hurt her side… And the turtle only meant good for her, despite the scratches that she had given him. She felt a little guilty about it, but still, she wasn't sure about this whole situation.

So, with a soft sigh and a troubled heart, she hesitantly grabbed the blanket and, after adjusting a bit, folded it up and laid it on the branch underneath her. Then she took the pillow and propped it up against the tree's trunk, fluffing it a bit. For a moment, she was put off by the scent of old pizza. But, remembering the turtle's intentions, she looked passed the funny smell and curled up on the blanket, leaning her head against the pillow and using her tail to curl around her.

She was relieved that sleep came quickly after she closed her eyes.