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Chapter 23
Cat
Ice Cream Kitty mewed when Mikey opened the freezer door and Klunk mewed in response from her perch on top of the freezer. When Mikey first presented Ice Cream Kitty to Klunk, the orange cat hissed and swatted at the new mutant. It took a few weeks to get them used to each other and it wasn’t easy. Now Mikey often found Klunk on top of the freezer pawing at the door in an attempt to get at her new friend.
After pulling the empty food bowl out and putting it in the sink, Mikey lifted Ice Cream Kitty from the freezer and placed her in a large mixing bowl. Tello had told him about all of the different things his brother had done with his beloved pet. So Mikey made sure to take time out of every day to give the mutant cat some time out of the freezer. The fact that she didn’t suffocate in there still amazed Mikey.
Klunk jumped down and padded after Mikey as he walked out of the kitchen. Mikey led the way to his old room where he had set up an elaborate cat play area. The beginning stages of a play area, with a freezer unit in it, was sitting in the corner. Tello and Donny were going to attach it to Klunk’s play area so that the two cats could play together without the fear of Ice Cream Kitty melting or Klunk getting too cold. They were planning on going to the junk yard that night to get the last few components they needed to finish it. Mikey was looking forward to the night out. It had been too long since the last time they left the lair.
Klunk jumped up onto the first platform and sat down to watch Mikey place Ice Cream Kitty next to her. Purring, Klunk rubbed her head against Ice Cream Kitty’s and then they proceeded to lick each other.
“Try not to eat Ice Cream Kitty, Klunk,” Mikey teased. Klunk never licked so much that there was ever any fear of her consuming Ice Cream Kitty but that didn’t stop Mikey from joking about it. Oddly enough, Klunk never got sick from the dairy that made up Ice Cream Kitty’s body.
The mutated cat was an interesting creature. She seemed to be an endless supply of ice cream and could be closed up in the freezer without needing any air. She was able to rid herself of any of Klunk’s hair that got stuck in her creamy body. If she had any internal organs or digestive system she showed no sign of one. Though they fed her cream every day there was never any waste later. She did, however, melt so they had to be careful with time management when they had her outside of the freezer.
One thing Mikey knew for sure, Ice Cream Kitty was one happy cat. She loved it when Mikey pet her, leaning into the touch. When Mikey pulled his hand away, instead of hair, it was covered with ice cream. “I don’t know which is worse,” he mumbled as he wiped his hand on a towel. He had learned early on to keep one near at all times and to never pet Ice Cream Kitty before petting Klunk. It was just gross.
There was a knock at the door, followed by Leo poking his head into the room. “Can I come in?”
“Absolutely,” Mikey answered as he finished wiping his hand. “I’m always happy to see my favorite brother. Did you need something?”
Entering the room, Leo closed the door behind him. “I was alone and I need to be in the same room as someone.”
Mikey nodded his understanding. “You had another nightmare last night.” Leonardo had opened up to his brother about his fears and the nightmares that haunted him. His nightmares were usually of Shredder and watching his brothers killed one by one. If it wasn’t Shredder, it was Bishop. And though he hides it from the others, there was lingering pain from where Karai had stabbed him.
“We could have lost Donatello. Once again I stood there, watching another brother dying, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I think about what happened to Tello and I know we’ve come close….” Leo wasn’t able to say anything more before Mikey held Klunk out for him.
“Pet the cat,” Mikey stated flatly. He had a feeling that Tello’s situation would trigger Leo’s fears. Why wouldn’t they? Tello had lived out the very thing that Leo had nightmares about. It was bound to have an effect on him. Mikey was going to do all he could to keep those fears from taking hold on Leo. Not again. “It does wonders for your stress levels. You’ll feel it all melt away as she purrs in your lap. Cats are therapeutic.”
“Okay,” Leo replied as Mikey dumped Klunk into his arms. “I was hoping that we could talk. I’m not in the mood to play with your cat.”
“Take her over there and play with her,” Mikey ordered. “There is a box of toys for her. And if you really want a good laugh, give her the one with the catnip.”
Mikey turned his attention back towards Ice Cream Kitty and held out a ball on a string for her. Looking over his shoulder, Mikey saw Leo absentmindedly stroking Klunk’s head as he sat down. With a soft sigh, Mikey said, “Don’t linger on it, Leo. We’re fine. But if you need to get it out of your system, then go ahead and vent.”
“Donny was captured and replaced with an unstable clone and Raph was almost killed,” Leo argued, keeping his eyes on the floor. “Hun has a blood vendetta against us. Bishop wants to breed us so he can have his own little army of Turtles. I’ve watched two of my brothers teeter on the brink of death and I was powerless to help them. I wouldn’t say that everything is fine.”
“We’re alive, Leo,” Mikey countered. “Shredder is dead, vaporized. Karai is an ally, we just need to get everyone else on board with moving into the Food headquarters.”
Leo looked up. “You would be willing to move?”
Mikey shrugged. “If Karai wanted to hurt us, she has had plenty of times to do it. I think her desire to be allies is legit. I wouldn’t mind living in a secure location with other mutants and the possibility of love.”
“The always open food court with its ice cream dispenser wouldn’t have anything to do with your decision would it?” Leo quipped, managing a soft smile.
“It would be nice to not have to cook ever again,” Mikey admitted. “Or do the dishes.”
“You do realize that we wouldn’t be allowed to freeload,” Leo pointed out. “We would have to work.”
Mikey turned to face Leo. “Wouldn’t being a ninja be our job?”
“Yes, but I’m sure we would have chores, much like the ones we have here as well,” Leo chuckled. “The dishes don’t clean themselves. The Foot is a secret society. They can’t hire a cleaning crew to do it all so they would have to use members of the Foot. I’m sure they have some sort of rotating schedule like we do.”
Mikey moaned and Leo laughed.
“Besides,” Leo continued. “Doing chores builds character.”
Mikey rolled his eyes and snorted. “Signing up with the Foot doesn’t sound so good now. That would be so many dishes.”
“We would be safer,” Leo pointed out, looking down once again as he ran his hand down Klunk’s back. “I would lose my mind with grief if I ever lost one of you.”
“You have to stop that, Leo.” Mikey lifted Ice Cream Kitty’s bowl and headed over to sit down next to Leo. “Stop going to the worst possible scenario. Look at what we have going for us instead. Donny is fine and he’s stable, thanks to Tello. It might be a different body but it’s still him and, you never know, we might get more babies out of him. We all love babies. We have Tello, that brings our resident genius count to three now, and he’s bonded with Raph, which is doing wonders for the both of them. We’ll be fine, Leo.”
Leo rubbed the bridge of his beak. “I’m trying.”
“I know,” Mikey soothed. “You’ve been through a lot. It can’t be easy for you as the leader of our little clan. You know that I’m here for you whenever you need to unburden yourself.”
“I don’t want to be a bother,” Leo whispered.
“You’re not,” Mikey smiled. He placed his hand on Leo’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Leo leaned towards Mikey and they pressed their foreheads together. “Thank you.”
“No problem, bro,” Mikey said with a smile.
They sat together, playing with the cats until it was time to place Ice Cream Kitty back into the freezer. “When the two geniuses finish up your new play area, you won’t have to be cooped up in that old freezer anymore,” Mikey cooed to the mutant cat as he stood. “You’ll have more freedom. But for now, let’s get you back into the freezer before you become a puddle of goop.”
Mikey got to the door and looked over his shoulder at Leo as he reached for the handle. “Feel free to stay in here with Klunk for as long as you like. Just remember that we are heading out to the junk yard later.”
“I remember,” Leo nodded as he rolled a ball across the floor and watched Klunk chase it. “I think I will stay in here a bit.”
“Okay,” Mikey replied then added with a grin, “You can clean the sticky remains of ICK out of Klunk’s fur,” and left to return Ice Cream Kitty to the freezer before Leo could respond.
