chiv-id: Woot, another chappie!!!
Don: Well, two in one night...is this an apology for holding out on us for the whole of winter vacation?
chiv-id: ...Meh-be...anyway:
Disclaimer: chiv-id doesn't own TMNT, but she does own Kat. On with the chapter!
The Baxter Creations
Chapter 3: Le Recherches (The Search)
"It…hurt…" she said hesitantly, her words halting and barely formed. She had trouble talking, though she felt glad that she could at least talk at all. When she was still in the lab underneath the Baxter Building, she remembered when Dr. Stockman took some of the experiments out and let them just get a little exercise. Many would fight and end up with a lot of wounds, but only the truly thinking ones, the ones who survived the side effects of the mutagen were able to stay out of fights. She had made friends with them, but now…she was alone again.
"Where…friends…?" she asked herself, looking around in the alley. She had felt the effects of the tranquilizer about 40 minutes ago, and only her determination and will was keeping her up. Katherine's arm still hurt from the needle and she had a faint idea that it might have been infected. She took another look and found that the skin where the needle pierced was an odd blotchy red, putting her hand back on the sight which was located on her right hand.
"April…" she moaned, remembering the last kind person she had seen before being taken by Baxter and turned into a freak, "Help…" She looked down a deserted alley and she staggered inside, avoiding more people as she slunk down on all fours and curled up on the side of a dumpster.
"Need…rest…" she muttered, her tail wrapping around her hand, "Find…later…" She slept in a deep sleep next to that dumpster in the alley, unaware of the commotion she had wrung up at the Gastion Mall…
"Okay…Mikey and Raph, go uptown, me and Donny are going more downtown. She must be somewhere close if she got shot by tranquilizers…trust me, they're heavy stuff…" Leo rubbed his arm in remembrance, Raphael doing the same, "Okay, let's go." Everyone split up, April and Casey staying to get a better grip on the story. The couple first approached Gastion, who was sitting on the fender of an ambulance, an oxygen mask on his face and several men working on his chest. They had stripped him of his monkey suit and he was left with a bare chest and pants.
"Gastion…Gastion! I want to ask you a few questions," April said sternly, ignoring the men trying to ward her off, "That girl who attacked you, from the Baxter Building, I want to know more about her!" Gastion just shook his head and didn't answer, the men going back and putting more bandages around his chest and pushing him further away from April into the ambulance.
"We aren't gonna get anything from that guy," Casey stated, "Maybe we should see these scientists people about this."
"Good idea…except we have no idea where they are," April countered, "Casey, the only way we're going to get to the bottom of this is if the boys get Kat…she's the only one who can tell us the whole story…" April left the scene with Casey trailing behind; looking at the severe mauling of the other security guards, a bite mark here, a large gouge there, numbers of wounds covered the men. April sighed as glanced at them, memories of the sweet Katherine floating back to her and telling her heart that she couldn't have done this…
Meanwhile, Leo and Raphael were scouring the downtown area, coming to stop at an intersection, standing on top of a Chinese restaurant on one of the corners.
"Jeez, how we gonna find one person in this place?" Raphael grumbled, Leo paying no mind, "So what, we just wait for a scream and a roar and then-" Ironically enough, a giant lion-sized roar echoed just below them, a man screaming in terror as he found the sleeping Katherine…or at least her tail under his foot. Raphael looked to Leo and they both jumped down, finding a supremely pissed off Katherine holding her tail and shaking it in anger at the Chinese chef, his apron crumpled as he sank down to the floor next to the wall of the restaurant. She bared her teeth again, yellow eyes slits as she stared at the man with fury.
"Hey! Take on somebody you're on size!" Raphael yelled out across the alley, from the shadows. She turned to the voice, the man hurriedly scurrying away to the safety of the restaurant and closed the door quickly. Her cat eyes were effective in the dark and she spotted two figures, human looking, though not quite…
"Yeah, I'm talkin' to you kitty, now get over here, you big furball and show us what you got!" Raphael taunted, Leo shaking his head, but drawing his katanas, Raphael his sais. She got down on all fours, raising her hind quarters as she began to stalk them like prey. Crossing from left to right, she made a pacing that had the two brothers tilting their heads. Suddenly, she pounced, racing towards them with unnatural speed and barreled into Raphael, her teeth snapping towards his face in outrage. He threw her off, making her crash into the wall behind them. Snarling, Katherine climbed up the wall quickly and escaped, Raphael cursing as they went to follow her.
"Donny, we found her, meet us Chinatown," Leo told Donatello over the phone as he saw the huge neon Chinese letters displayed on a giant arch. Raphael drew out a chain with two balls at the ends of the chain, Leo raising an eye ridge.
"I thought you got rid of that with Nightwatcher?" Leo questioned, Raphael smirking.
"C'mon, it's a good weapon, helps me catch the bad guys," Raphael retorted, twirling it as she began to come a little closer. They approached without sound, but Katherine could still feel it in her gut that they were still following. She was so afraid now, but she'd be damned if they'd take her without a little trouble! She turned into another alley and she began jumping between the buildings to get to the roof tops and she proceeded on from there. Finally, she stopped and turned around, seeing no one. Kat sat down on her haunches as she panted and took a small respite; she licked her hand and cleaned herself a bit as she wallowed in her sense of security. A small noise told her she wasn't alone however, but continued to clean herself, deciding to lure the foe into a false sense of security. Suddenly, she heard a twirling noise and she turned around swiftly to see a chain connect with her upper torso. Giving a screech, she tried to run, but the chain began wrapping itself around her and she fell hard. Her balance was thrown off and it was going to be hard to run with the weight.
"Ha, told you it's a good weapon," Raph told Leo, coming over and squatting in front of Katherine who was giving low yowls and struggling with the chain, "Easy, furball, we ain't gonna hurt you if you come easy." She looked up at him as he reached out a hand and she started slithering back, inching away from him as he got closer. She snapped at his hand as soon as he was in the no-touchie zone.
"Gah, she bites!" Raph growled as she continued to bare her teeth at him in an attempt to intimidate him, "Listen, can't we knock her out or somethin'? Makes it a whole lot easier on our part."
"No," Leo reprimanded, "We're not going to hurt her." He squatted down with Raph, smiling instead of reaching out with a grimace. Her ears twitched in curiosity as he slowly moved his hands, not in front of her face, but to the chains. She struggled once more, thinking he was going to tighten it, but stopped in surprise as she began unwinding it a little.
"See, we're not here to hurt you," Leo told her, yellow eyes fixing on his form, turning to blue-green again, "There, all done. Now, what's you're name?" Leo held out his hand as if to shake and she sat up, the chain resting on her thighs and a bit on her tail. Blinking, she came forward on all fours and leaned towards his hand, sniffing it. She shrank back as she smelled the sewer on him and pawed at her nose as if to get the smell out. Raph laughed as Leo gave a sour face, as did Kat.
"Now that was funny," he gave in his Brooklyn accent, "Seriously, though, if she bolts, you go catch her." Katherine, however, crouched before Leo, sitting up straight and he looked at her in the eyes. Katherine's eyes were shifting from the blue-green to the yellow as she assessed him, prey, foe, or friend? He certainly wasn't prey; he had done a pretty good job of defending, foe? Well, she wasn't exactly sure of that detail, nor the friend detail, but she decided that he was an acquaintance she'd rather have as an ally.
"Name…" she said in her stressed English, "Kat…" Leo and Raph blinked at her words, then Leo put a hand on her bare shoulder.
"I'm Leo, and this is Raph," he jerked his head over to Raph, "And we want to take you somewhere safe, if you come easy." She nodded and then shook herself a little since it began to rain. Her cat ears twitched and her tail moving through the air like a snake. Kat smiled happily, standing up with Leo and Raph.
"Guys, it's Leo, we got her," the other two turtles jumped up and they greeted Katherine, "Hey, this is Kat…say hi Kat." She tried to talk again, but frowned as the words weren't very coherent. Instead, she smiled again and meowed happily, walking over to the brothers. She moved to the purple-clad turtle first, Donatello, her head ducking low to sniff his hands then his face a little, her hair tickling him like whiskers and he laughed.
"That's Donny," Leo pointed out, Katherine turning for a bit towards him before going to the orange-banded turtle, "And that's Mikey."
"Hey, dudette, name's Mikey!" Michelangelo said, holding out his own hand and she sniffed it as well. He noticed her ears twitching and moved his other hand to touch them. Her ears flicked some water off and he laughed at it, touching the sensitive appendages again.
"Mikey, she's not a toy," Donatello scolded, giving a sharp rap on Mikey's hands. Mikey frowned, but Kat didn't mind at all, mewling to get his attention. She nuzzled his hand as if to say alright, being that she couldn't talk much.
"Aw, she likes it," Mikey said, petting her head, "You wanna go home with us?" She nodded her head and she purred, instantly bonding with the fun-loving turtle.
"Jeez, should've sent Mikey ta get her," Raph grumbled, Katherine tagging behind the orange-banded turtle like a puppy, "Got her followin' him all over the place. They were jumping across the roof tops and Katherine was following with ease, happy to have friends again. They jumped down into a small alley, Leo taking the manhole covering off and letting Kat go in first.
"Le sewers…" she managed to say slowly, scrunching up her cat nose. She crouched near it and sniffed again, almost retching as she backed away further from the disgusting place.
"Look, just trust us, it's the only safe place," Leo reasoned with her and she crawled towards the manhole, again scrunching up her face. Mikey put a finger up to his lips and tiptoed towards her, Katherine unaware as Leo kept trying to tell her to get in.
"Here we go!" Mikey said, scooping up Katherine in his arms, Katherine giving a frightened yowl, high-pitched like a scared cat. He jumped in the manhole before she could protest and the rest followed. Katherine glared at him as she squatted on the sewer sidewalk, shaking off the rain from before. Her ears and tail were soaked, leaving her looking like a wet kitten as she began pacing a bit before shaking out her right foot, then left. Mikey pulled on her tail when the brothers began going to their place, Katherine glaring once more at Mikey in scorn.
"Sorry, but we weren't getting any younger, you know," Mikey said in his care-free style, Katherine still sulking over being pulled in the sewers. She reluctantly followed as he began walking away, not wanting to be left alone. Mikey's face suddenly brightened, however, then turned to look at her, now walking on two legs only.
"Hey, Kat, did you say 'le sewers'? As in 'le', like French 'le'?" Mikey asked and she nodded, "Awesome, say, 'mademoiselle', do you like 'le pizza'?" She giggled and nodded, smiling in earnest at the odd turtle.
"Good, 'cause that's all we got right now," Mikey said with a smile, entering the lair with April and Casey sitting around a channel-surfing Splinter, who was looking for a news channel with more information on the experiments found in the lab.
"Hello Master Splinter, Casey, April," Donatello greeted, bowing with his hands together, "We brought the girl along, her name's Kat."
"Oh god, Katherine!" April breathed, running forward and hugging her.
"April?" Katherine asked surprised, just standing there as her old friend hugged her, "Grande sœur!" Her French surprised everyone but Mikey and Casey as she jumped on April, wrapping her legs on her old friend and purring loudly, rubbing her face affectionately on April's.
"Found you! Found you!" she managed to say without breaking her words, "Found April!" April giggled as she felt a rough tongue lick at her face with enthusiasm.
"Kat, stop, you're making me ticklish!" she laughed, hugging her dearly as if she were a little sister, "God, Kat…what happened?" Katherine's ears flopped down as she thought of the question, unlatching herself from April. Kat stood there, her face looking down with her hair covering her face, an uncomfortable atmosphere surrounding the two. She shook her head, but April pulled her over to the couch where Donatello and Michelangelo were already situated.
"Katherine…you have to tell us what happened…we know who…but what?" April questioned, determined to get to the bottom of it, "I want to know so that we can find a way to help you." April stopped however as she saw tears form at Katherine's eyes, Katherine holding herself as the flooding of memories came back.
"No…" Katherine told her, "Pleaze…no ask…" The French accent came out more in her sentences, perhaps whenever she was under high amounts of stress.
"April…" Splinter's voice came across, but Katherine's eyes took on a dangerous yellow hue as she noticed what creature was talking, "…Oh dear…" He became fearful of the girl, but stood his ground as he stood up. She crouched on the floor and the turtles, even Casey, brought out some weapons in case she began attacking.
"You're name is Katherine, is it not?" he asked, staring into the primal yellow. Katherine's angry and predatory expression melted into one of sorrow and humane feelings, nodding as she realized what she was about to do. She sat down, her tail curling around her as she looked down a bit ashamedly.
"I am…sorry…" she whispered, "Can…not…"
"It is alright, my dear," he said, raising a hand, and he knelt before her, "Look into my eyes." Master Splinter captured her chin as he raised her face, tears coming to her eyes as she felt so lost and so afraid of others and herself. He could feel it.
"Know that you are not alone, child," Splinter told her, eye-contact still in place, "And that we will help you. I sense goodness in you, sorrow, pain, and loneliness as well." He released her chin and she nodded, tears still in her eyes, threatening to fall.
"Please…tell us of your troubled past," Splinter asked, Katherine taking the same position as Splinter, kneeling before him. She couldn't speak very well, but she decided to try anyways and figured that getting it out was the best solution at this point.
"I am Katherine Noreman," she blinked as she found that she spoke perfectly, as if the eye-contact with Splinter had helped her to find her voice, but lasted momentarily, "I am experiment…059…Liger. That…all I remember…all I know…and…knew April…and work for Baxter…before I change…" She looked down again, Splinter nodding. The turtles and the two humans watched and listened to her story. She took a deep breath and continued, lifting her head up.
"Hundred twenty experiments…not as lucky as me," she explained, "Or friends. Side effects of…mutagen…changed us…savage beasts. Only few, like me. Do not know where…but…no harm. Others …"
"I have been looking with Miss O'Neil and Mr. Jones to find information upon this topic," Splinter commented, standing up, Katherine following, "And we have discovered that those of which you speak of have done some terrible things." Splinter took the remote in his paw and turned up the volume to let her hear.
"…And the brutalities of this assault are just horrendous, right now, they have hoses, just to spray off the blood! It's that unbelievably gruesome! I mean, you have to have high-pressure fire hoses, just to get the blood away from the public!" the news reporter yelled, people putting hands over their mouths, gasping, everyone looking at the sight. Body bags upon body bags with blood leaking from them were being piled into vans to be examined later, blood flowing from the building down to the sidewalk and into the street. It was everywhere and it made Katherine's hairs stand on end. Her tail bristled as she saw a particular scratch mark on the side of the building, tapping Splinter on the shoulder. He let her have the remote and she paused it on the teeth and scratch marks on the building. Everyone looked between the screen and her as her eyes narrowed, the yellow burning deeply in her eyes.
"Experiment 105…codename Doraegon…" she hissed, baring her teeth as she stared at the teeth marks, "Never supposed to get out."
"So, who's this Doraegon guy or whatevas?" asked Raph, standing by Splinter and Katherine to get a better look at the marks.
"General for experiment army," Katherine said, her ears pressed to the back of her head in anger, "Made only for Master Shredder'z purposes…nothing but tools and weapons!" Katherine was starting to get pissed off again, but Raph grabbed the remote and pressed play, letting the news caster finish what he was saying.
"…And it seems that-" a loud roar was heard that had everyone cringing as it echoed through out the lair, "Oh my god, it seems that…it seems that the creature is still inside the building! The S.W.AT. are coming in and they are going to be here in five minutes, let's hope they can take on whoever did this!" the news reporter said as he ducked behind the van in the rain.
"No…my kill!" she roared angrily, dashing away, but Splinter snapped his wrist out, flinging his cane into her head and she stopped abruptly. She blinked before dropping to the floor from the force of the blow.
"We can not let her go to combat this creature with such rage," Splinter explained, walking over and picking up his stick, "My sons, I want you to observe, but do not battle. I am afraid that we will cause too much trouble if you do, remember the first monster you dealt with? I had caught you when the news reporter told me about the construction site."
"Yes, Master Splinter," they all chorused, each embarrassed as they soundlessly retreated to carry their father's wishes. Splinter sighed as he saw Mikey run back in to get in to get his numchucks, Mikey waving a quick good bye. Casey and April helped get Katherine onto the couch, Master Splinter still a bit edgy at having a cat woman on the same piece of furniture. Katherine blearily opened her eyes for a moment, as if she hadn't been hit at all, but merely just had a nap. Wrapping her arms around the old rat, she rested her head against a leg and her arms around his waist, using him as a pillow. Scrunching her body as close to him as possible, she seemed like a small child and Master Splinter saw this, again dismissing his fear and putting a hand on her back as he sipped his tea.
chiv-id: How was that?
Kat: (staring at Raphael's bandana ends) ...
Raph: (notices) What?
Kat: (pounces and grabs the bandana ends and rips them off his head)
Raph: What the-?!? Give 'em back, ya mangy furball! (chases Kat around the room who enjoys playing with the cloth)
chiv-id: ...Hmm...maybe I made her too cat-like...hm...have to work on that...anyways, please, reviews!
Raph: GIVE 'EM BACK!!! (throws sais at Kat)
chiv-id: Hey, no throwing dangerous metal tools in my house! (Raph chasing Kat, chiv-id chasing Raph) Reviews!