So, I got the idea for this adorable little fucker a few months ago at about 3 a.m. and it would not let me sleep until I had a working image for him and the beginnings of a fanfic for him. His name was originally William, after William Shakespeare, but a changed it to fit the theme of 'Italian renaissance artists'.

Disclaimer: No. Disclaimers are bullshit and you know it. If I did own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction, now would I?

xXx

It started out like any other day, Leo training with Master Splinter, Raph off fighting thugs with Casey, Don in the lab, and Mikey was bored. He'd already watched the latest Star Trek movies twice, played all his video games, and was currently bugging Don.

"But I'm bored!" Mikey wailed.

"So find something to do."

"I tried that. Don't you have anything I could help you with?"

Don paused for a moment, deciding whether to just ignore his brother or give him something to do. Sighing, he said,

"If you're really that bored, then why don't you check out that old tunnel we found. Something has been upsetting the camera I set up down there. Maybe you can find out what it is?"

Reluctantly, Mikey nodded, before turning and bounding out the door and down towards the tunnel. When he got there, he nearly jumped when a loud, human-like yowl sounded from the room ahead. Running at the noise, he saw two high school punks dangling what looked to be a large cat over the side of an abandoned subway rail. When he came into the room, he realised that the floor beneath the animal was gone, opening into the rushing sewer water below.

"Look at the freak! He can't even defend himself!" the two teenagers laughed at the tortured animal. Mikey couldn't believe what was happening, as the cat started bawling. This just brought forth more taunts.

"Look! What kinda cat can cry? He ain't even a proper person, can't even talk!"

Without thinking, Mikey threw a hard punch at one of them, sending him sprawling to the floor. The other one let out a surprised,"What the HELL?!" and ran off with his friend. Leaping back to the thing they were teasing, Mikey grabbed him just before he fell into the raging water below. Without looking at the black-furred creature in his arms, he raced back to the cavern.

xXx

"Leo, Donnie, Raph! Help!"

At their brother's frantic cry, the three ran towards the door.

"Mikey, what happened?"

Breathlessly, he tried to explain to his brothers about the punks, and the almost -drowning of the unconscious creature in his arms. However, all that was audible was a strangled,"Here." as Mikey gave the form to his brothers. Laying him on the couch, Don began to examine him.

"From what I can gather, he's a mutant. Common house cat, nonpedigree. He's been without a home for a very long time, maybe even his whole life. What's more, he's injured."

Before his brothers could ask how he knew the creature was a mutant, Don gathered some glowing green ooze from the cat's tangled fur.

"Donnie, find out as much as you can and treat that injury while you're at it. Raph and I will try to get something out of Mikey."

xXx

Some time later, Mikey was explaining full speed to his brothers what had happened.

"...And then I just kinda punched him. I mean, I was just, like, so mad! Anyway, I caught the kid just before he fell. And that's pretty much it."

"Wait, Mikey, how do you know he's a kid?"

Just then, the door of Donatello's lab slid open.

"Actually Leo, he's right. The boy isn't more than seven years old. The injury wasn't too bad, just a minor fracture. But what's really interesting is his vocal chords. He has all the necessary parts for human speech, but only the ones used by cats have gotten any use. I think he was just recently mutated."

Leo, Raph, and Mikey looked at the child on their sofa. As though he had heard them, he started to stir.

"He cannot live in the outside world. It would be best for him to live here, with us."

The brothers jumped at the sound of their adoptive father's voice.

"Master Splinter!" Leo choked out nervously,"I didn't hear you."

"I should hope not, my son"

"So, what were you saying?"

"I was saying that I would not be adverse to allowing him to be a member of our family,

if he so wishes. Besides, it might be good for us all to have a 'youngster' around the house."

Relief quickly came over the turtles, their joy and excitement at having a new family member evident in the indulgent grins on their faces.

"Well, I think the first order of business is to give him a name. What do you guys think?"

"Well, Leo, I think we should name him Albert. Or maybe Gregor! As in Mendel? The father of modern genetics? Anyone?"

"You're such a nerd sometimes, Don. I think he should have something tough, you know. Something to command respect in whoever hears it. Like Victor!"

"Man, you guys are lame. I think we should name him after someone cool. How 'bout Spock? What do you think, Leo?"

"I think that since he's the one who's bringing the boy into the family, Master Splinter should decide his name. After all, he gave the four of us OUR names."

Turning towards the old rat, they all looked at him expectantly.

"As you know, I named the four of you after the great Renaissance artists Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Donatello di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, and Raphael Sanzio. Today I wish to honor that tradition by giving him a name of another great renaissance artist. We shall call him Canaletto."

The four of them hummed, nodded, or vocalised their assent. Then, as though disquieted by the silence that had settled amongst them, Mikey screwed up his face as if thinking very hard about something. Suddenly, his face lit up in realisation.

"Khan!"

"What?" His brothers asked in unison.

"His nickname! You know, Mikey, Leo, Donnie, Raph..."

"It's better than nothing, I guess." Donatello said finally. Behind him, the rustle of blankets could be heard from the couch, followed by a soft mewl. The four turned to face a terrified looking kitten.

"It's okay, nobody's going to hurt you little guy." Donatello said reassuringly. Canaletto seemed to relax at that.

"Oh, so you understand English!" Mikey exclaimed brightly.

"From now on, we're gonna call you Canaletto, 'Kay kid?"

"C-Ca-na-le-to?" The boy said, fumbling over the new words. He clearly was unaccustomed to human speech.

"That is correct, young one. From now on, we welcome you as a member of our family."
Khan beamed. Then, his smile vanished and he dove behind the couch. Not a second later, Casey came barging in.

"Yo', guys, what's goin' on?"

Mikey put a finger to his lips to quiet him, as Donnie tried to coax a terrified looking Canaletto out from underneath the sofa. Raph burst out laughing, earning a smack on the back of his head from Leo and I confused look from Casey for his trouble.

"You really got a way with kids, don'tcha Case?" Raph sniggered.

"Whatcha talkin' about, Raph? An' who's da fuzz ball?"

Said fuzz ball was now peering curiously at the Vigilante, purring softly from behind Don's legs.

"Meet the newest addition to the family! Casey, Canaletto. Canaletto, Casey."

"Cay-see." he said. Then he pointed to each turtle, saying,"Raf-i-el. Lee-oh-nar-do. Don-a-te-lo. Mi-ka-lan-ge-lo."

The five stared at him, amazed. Splinter looked pleased, though not at all surprised.

"Wow! He may not speak English yet, but he sure learns fast!" Don praised. The turtles began chattering excitedly amongst each other. While they were distracted, Canaletto walked slowly towards Master Splinter, obviously wary of the new method of walking upright.

"Yes, my son?"

The small boy reached up and clung to the large rat's waist. Splinter could feel the boy shaking against him. Smiling warmly, kindly, he picked up the frighted child and hit all four of his elder sons on the heads. They quickly turned to their father, and Leo opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Splinter's hand in the air.

"If you are trying to get him to accept you, then this is not the way to go about it. I suggest you each take turns getting to know your new sibling better. As Michelangelo was the one to bring him to us, he may go first. You are all welcome to observe his behavior."