Mean, Green, & Making A Scene

"Don't mention it" Raph replied as he glanced over towards her, his piercing green eyes watching her before focusing ahead once more. They only managed to walk a couple of more feet until a presence came stumbling onto their path, prompting Raph to stick an arm out in front of Ava in order to stop her. He reacted completely out of instinct as he retrieved his sai and assumed a defensive position, seeming to ready to defend Ava if this turned into a dire situation. Even though the Slworm was long gone, the turtles were still a bit cautious,you never knew if there was any leftover slime writhing its way through the sewers. However, nothing could of prepared him for the unfamiliar mutant in front of him.

Judging by her appearance alone, Raph could make out that she was a female and probably wasn't one of the Shredder's hench-mutants. She was clad in some sort of lab coat that had become scuffed and dirtied, making Raph weary of her presence. But before, the mutated turtle could act, the cat woman had spotted him.

"What the-!"

The unfamiliar mutant hurried back a few steps when she saw Raph and Ava, immediately causing her to become defensive. Claws shot out from her padded fingertips and the fur on her tail puffed up, showing that she felt threatened. Even with the display though, Raph stood his ground.

"Wh-who... I swear if you're another one of Berg's, there's going to be trouble! You're not not taking me back!" The mutant cat spat at Raph, not seeming to be very trusting of Ava either despite her human appearance.

"Alright, calm down, lady" Raph told her, eyes narrowing. "I have no clue who you're talking about, but obviously something is up."

"Hey!" Raph protested in response to Ava's comment, his cheeks heating up slightly as he looked at her. Thankfully though, Ava's calm and gentle demeanor seemed to do the trick. Though she regarded them with a look of suspicion, the mutated cat woman retracted her claws, seeming to be put at easy somewhat. She certainly perked up at the mention of cure, ears swiveling forward as she blinked in surprise, "There's a cure?" She asked, studying Ava closely. Despite her young age, she clearly knew what she was talking about with the mutagen, and she and her reptilian companion didn't look like any of the creatures that Berg had back in the lab. Maybe these two could be trusted? She had just been so paranoid after all that she had been through, she hadn't been in her right mind.

"I'm... I'm Dr. Rosanne Patel" She soon introduced before she went on to explain her situation, "This mutagen... Some colleges and I were exposed to it after a scientist we work with used it against us... He locked us up, but... But I managed to escape. I'd go to the police but, uh..." Patel managed a weak chuckle, afterwards looking down at herself, "Obviously I can't in this condition."

Raph had since put his sai back as Patel began to talk and from what she told them, she was not in a good situation. She and her friends were exposed to mutagen and then locked up like animals after they turned, and that didn't sit well with him. Normally he wouldn't be so lenient about leading a complete stranger to their home, but Patel obviously needed help. "Well, if we're helping her then we gotta get a move on" He stated before gesturing for Patel to follow, "C'mon."

Patel's brow furrowed slightly, hesitant at first, but she didn't have a lot of options. She soon began to follow after Raph and Ava, being led towards the lair.

"We'll get you back home" Raph assured her as they walked back in the direction which they came, aware that Ava still needed to get back to her younger brother. She had a family of her own and they would worry, so once they got Patel settled in at the lair, he planned to walk her back. He doubted that he'd be needed while Patel was helped, besides, Ava was still important.

So once they found themselves at the entrance to the lair, Raph poked his head in and sought out Leo. "Hey, is Donnie still in the lab?" He asked when he spotted the oldest turtle on the couch, surely watching his Space Heroes show. Leo moved to pause the show, afterwards getting up to better face Raphael. "Uh, yeah. Why?" He soon asked, raising a brow when he noticed that Raph seemed to be blocking something from view... Also Ava was still with him.

"Tell him to get his butt out here, we got a situation" Raph explained curtly, earning a questioning look from Leo, but the leader didn't ask any further questions. Instead he went to retrieve Donnie, having a feeling this was important.

Meanwhile, Raph moved aside to let Patel step into the lair, the cat woman looking around in a rather nervous manner.

"She told us that some guy she worked with went down the mad scientist route and splashed her and some others with mutagen" Raph explained after Ava had spoken, soon folding his arms against his plastron, "She would of gone to the police, but obviously they wouldn't take too kindly to an actual cat woman."

Patel glanced at Raph when he told the others about her situation, soon turning her focus to Donnie afterwards. "Um, thank you, Raphael... Listen, I'm sorry I showed up in your home unannounced... But I really didn't have anywhere else to go, Dr. Berg still has my colleagues and I need to get them back before he does anything worse. He's become completely obsessed with his work, he refuses to be reasoned with."

Leo nodded in understanding as Patel better explained what was going on. She wanted to save her colleagues from a guy who had otherwise gone completely rogue, enough to the point where he used mutagen as a weapon against them. Of course there was still the question of why Ava was in the sewers, but that would have to take a backseat for now. Not only did this Dr. Berg have access to mutagen, he was using it to harm others, this had to be dealt with.

As they talked, Denise had noticed that something was going on and had stepped out of the lab. Judging by how her furrowed brow, she was definitely concerned. Not only was there an unfamiliar mutant in the lair, but also another human girl. She didn't know much about Splinter, but he was strict on who could come down here.

Denise nodded in response, soon moving to approach Patel. Since Donnie had shown her how to administer Retromutagen, she wouldn't have any trouble with helping the mutated scientist. "Come on, the lab's this way" She told her as she gently put a hand against Patel's back, leading her towards Donnie's lab. Patel nodded, following after Denise, but not before giving one more glance towards the turtles.

She really owed these guys one, they were going out of their way to help and they didn't even know her. She had no clue though that there were mutants outside of Berg's lab, which told her that this mutagen was more widespread than she thought. Were there other like them? Mutants who lived without the general public knowing of their existence? As Denise had learned, it's funny how much goes on outside your little world without you knowing it.

With Patel being taken care of by Denise, the turtles had time to hatch a plan... Except for Raph, he still had to get Ava home. As Donnie turned his attention to Ava, Raph moved forward in a subtle manner, seeming to come to her defense again. Though he said nothing, it was clear that he wanted Donnie to drop it. Strange, the only person that Raph was this protective over was Spike.

Before long, the red-masked turtle got to leading Ava out of the lair, ready to take her back home with Leo and Donnie planned out what to do. Leo watched as the two left before exchanging a look with Donnie, he was starting to get that feeling that Mikey had been right about Raph and Ava; but that wasn't important right now.

There was another rogue scientist with access to Mutagen and they needed to stop him as soon as possible. They would need to get more information from Patel, such as if Berg had any others who were helping him and where this lab was.

Leo nodded in agreement to what Donnie had said, he had a valid point. Mutagen effected everyone differently, people had different reactions to it, so there was no telling what shape the mutated scientists were in. But one thing that was for certain was that they would probably be scared, who wouldn't be in their position? Fear made people take drastic measures and if the brothers freed them before administering the retromutagen, they very well could run off.

"It could be difficult, but we should probably apprehend Dr. Berg first. If he's incapacitated, then he won't be able to stop us from helping the scientists" Leo told Donnie before glancing towards the lab, where Denise and Patel were. They would need Patel to tell them where the facility was and how they could get in, he wasn't too keen on taking her along though. The woman had already been through a lot and he didn't know if she could defend herself if it came to it. He doubted that Patel was helpless, after all, she did get herself all the way here. But the fact still remained, it would be dangerous for her.

While the two worked out the details, the door to Donnie's lab opened and out came the two humans. The retromutagen had worked well and reverted Patel back to her human form, just as intended. Her clothes remained abraded, but instead of a mutant cat lady, Patel was once more a woman and she seemed very relieved about it.

_

"I don't know" Raph responded as he looked towards Ava, that being an honest answer. He didn't know if those people would be okay after they were helped. Sure, they wouldn't be mutants anymore, but retromutagen didn't exactly cure trauma. "Splinter says stuff like that can take time to heal" He soon told her while focusing ahead again, "But we can hope they will be."

_

Meanwhile, Marty had finally tracked down Dr. Patel again... Only issue was that she had gone into some of lair with a group of unfamiliar mutants, great. This woman was proving to be a lot of trouble, but whatever, it wouldn't be too hard to sneak in.

Leo blinked a few times at Mikey, seeming as if he was going to comment, but he decided against it. "This is Dr. Patel, she and some of her colleagues had been mutated" Leo instead explained to Mikey, leaving him to figure what that meant. The faster they got this done, the better. Not only was Patel not supposed to be here, but they had no clue what could happen to Patel's colleagues while trapped by Dr. Berg.

Thankfully though, Patel read into the situation very quickly. "I can help you guys get into the facility" She told them as she glanced between the brothers, "I could draw you guys a map and everything, but breaking in is going to be a lot more complicated. Berg has the place under tight wraps and I only got out because I know the place and how the security works." Having stated this she turned her focus onto Donnie specifically and studied the young turtle, "Donatello? Right? Denise said that you're really smart, and that you know tech. That's good, because there's going to be hacking involved. Berg changed around the database so only those who he chooses can get in. It also wouldn't hurt to disable any cameras and security measures, I can come along so you don't have to do all of that alone."

Patel seemed very adamant about helping, these were people she knew after all. It was because of their joined effort that Patel managed to get out with the security system under Berg's control. She could tell that Donnie was a smart young man, er, turtle. She didn't doubt his abilities, but it would help to have her knowledge of the facility.

What the group didn't know was that they had an infiltrator. With the use of his camouflage, Marty got in with little issue, but it was nerve-racking having to sneak around with everyone so close. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't panicking, not only did he get himself into a tight spot, but they were talking about breaking into the facility. Marty was pressed firmly against a wall as he watched from a distance, straining his hearing organs to listen. He could see that there were three mutated turtles, Patel, and a human girl, too many to take on at one time... Especially when three of them had training in martial arts. Oh man, it was a dumb idea to come in here, but how else would Marty have learned of their plans?

It was gravely important that he get Patel now, without her, they wouldn't be able to get in... At least not as easily, if they found the place. Marty had to be smart about this, and the best idea would be to distract and separate them, one at a time. His

Everything decided upon, it was time that Patel got to telling them about the location and facility; which she gladly did. Meanwhile, Denise went to go retrieve a blank blue print which could be used to jot down a map of the place, figuring they would need it. Having helped Donnie out with some of his projects, she was pretty good at figuring what he needed, and she was really careful around the lab too. Denise would feel really bad if she ever broke something of his, heck, she felt bad when she broke a cup in her own home; so she took extra care to watch herself when near his projects.

Now that she was away, there were only four left. Marty settled his focus onto the turtle with the orange mask, able to see that he wasn't as involved in planning like the others were. If the cuttlefish played his cards right, then maybe he could distract him and get him to move elsewhere, but he'd have to be subtle about it. He couldn't risk drawing the attention of the others.

Exhaling slowly through his gills, he began to inch along the wall so that he would be closer to Mikey, picking up a discarded soda can along the way. From there, he crouched down and rolled it off in a particular direction, trying to lead him away.

_

Figures that Mikey had been talking about him to Ava, which raised the question of what else he had told her. But that wasn't something to worry about right now, they were getting closer to where Raph would have to drop her off. "So I've been told" Raph commented as Ava told him about his tendency to act on emotion instead of thinking; he'd been told this before by Leo numerous times. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll try" Raph responded, quite the gesture considering that he tended to shake off any warnings of his temper. At Ava's last statement, Raph gave a teasing smile before he said, "I'm guessing you'd miss me if I didn't, but yeah, I will."

Marty nearly let out an exasperated huff when Mikey didn’t so much as turn his head, there went that idea... That turtle was off in his own little world. He’d have to do something else to get them away from Patel, but what?

Eh... Screw it...

He’d be here all day if he didn’t act soon and he could let these shellbrains learn of the facility’s location. So he would create a more prominent distraction, by retrieving a smoke bomb from his belt. They were an instrument of his own design, the substance inside spread like smoke and clouded a target’s vision; while also coating the eyes, nostrils, and mouth. It’ll be hard to figure out what was going on when they were all having a coughing fit.

After having pulled the pin, Marty drew his arm back and threw it at the group.

Leo was the first to notice the foreign object that was thrown at them, but it was too late to do anything about it when a dark mist came spewing out. A cloud had decided upon the group when the bomb’s shell clattered on the floor. What the shell was this stuff?! Leo was familiar with smoke bombs, but this wasn’t regular smoke. It felt more like a wet mist that stuck to his skin as he went to cover his mouth and nostrils with his arm.

-

Raph made no comment, it being obvious that he was trying to hold in a snicker. “Alright” He responded with a half smile, “Get home safe.”

The ink bomb had worked like a charm, consuming the group and rendering them unable to see. With their primary sense disabled, the real fun could begin. At that moment, Marty got up from his hiding spot and went to approach the group, making sure to hold his breath so that the substance wouldn't get into his gills.

Leo had done the same as Donnie and retrieved one of his katana, knowing that they would have to rely on hearing now. He inched towards where he remembered Patel being, able to hear her coughing while she covered her nose and mouth with part of her coat. This situation could only mean one thing... They had been infiltrated, someone else was in the lair with them! Leo gritted his teeth at this realization before he hastily went to pull his mask down, covering up his mouth and nostrils. "Guys, pull your masks over your mouths" He told the others, that way the substance would be less of an issue, they having a filter against it.

Before long though, there was the slapping of feet as Marty charged at them, moving to jump on the back of Mikey's shell. He hung on tight while wrapping one arm around the turtle's throat, afterwards throwing his own weight back to get Mikey off balance.

_

Raph watched as Ava turned around to leave, only to be taken by surprise when he was suddenly hugged by her. His sharp green eyes blew wide open, having not expected this as his face threatened to turn red. Hesitantly, he reached over to pat her on the back, focusing on Ava's face when she pulled away. "I promised I would, didn't I?" Raph reminded her, though his features seemed to soften a little... That is until he realized that he had forgotten his 'tough guy' facade. "Um, uh... See ya later" He soon said, clearing his throat as he rubbed the back of his neck. Afterwards, when Ava was gone, he turned around to head back home himself; unaware of what was happening in the lair.