Mikey can't quite believe that he's holding Jasmine in his arms. The scene seems like a dream, but he definitely doesn't want to wake up. The dream is welcome to go on forever as far as he's concerned. Leo's yelling something in the background, but Mikey tunes him out. He's gotten very good at it over time. Leo yells things a lot.

The pinging noise of a Kraang energy weapon is more successful at getting his attention. Reluctantly, he lets go of Jasmine. "Time to go!" he says.

Jasmine nods, and they start running across the warehouse. Mikey immediately bursts out ahead of her, realizes she's not keeping up, and drops back. Sophie's hanging back with her sister as well, and Raph is bringing up the rear with one arm supporting Donnie. Leo's already at the door, waving them on.

Mikey glances back at the Kraang battalion pouring into the warehouse and taking aim at them. His fingers reach down and find one of Donnie's smoke bombs, and he tosses it down, then pulls Jasmine aside as the Kraang energy blasts fly by them. The Kraang stop firing, and the turtles and sisters scramble out the door, Jasmine and Sophie coughing at the smoke. It hadn't occurred to Mikey to warn them to hold their breath.

They scramble on board the Shellraiser, and Leo kicks into gear as soon as they slam the door behind them. Jasmine glances around. "This is your ride? Cool," she says to Mikey.

Sophie makes a choking noise. Mikey feels bad that the smoke is still bothering her.

"Did you two ditch your cell phones?" Donnie asks urgently.

Sophie says, "I left mine in the warehouse," but Jasmine asks, "What?"

"The Kraang can track them," Donnie says. "I think that's how they found the two of you."

Jasmine pulls out her phone. The case is covered with adorable cat stickers. Mikey can't help saying, "Aww." Jasmine gives the phone one regretful look, then drops it out the window.

"Don't worry, Donnie will make you a new one! It'll be like my custom T-phone!" Mikey says, pulling out his and displaying it to Jasmine.

"The encryption on the phone makes it impossible for anyone to track," Donnie says proudly.

"Really? What kind of encryption are you using?" Jasmine asks.

Donnie responds with a burst of long science words. Jasmine nods, apparently absorbed, then asks a question made up of just as much science. Donnie lights up at that and starts talking even faster. Mikey's glad Donnie and his girlfriend are getting along, but he hopes this conversation doesn't go on too long.

Leo breaks in. "We've shaken the Kraang pursuit. Where should I drop you two off?"

"You don't need to drop them off, Leo! They just got here!" Mikey protests.

"Mikey, it's the middle of the night," Leo points out. "I'm sure Sophie and Jasmine would both like to get some sleep."

"Where's a good question, though," Sophie says. "The Kraang know about our apartment and Nikki's, now. We'll need to find a new place to stay. Probably one for Nikki, too. I don't want those things showing up at her door looking for us."

"She doesn't have a door anymore," Mikey helpfully points out.

Sophie acts like she doesn't hear him. "I'll work on finding us a place and see if I can get our stuff from my apartment. But Jasmine needs a safe place to stay. Would you be willing to stay at Dad's?"

Jasmine blanches. "I… I guess I could…" she says hesitantly.

"No one's gonna make you," Mikey says with a glare at Sophie. "You can stay with us for a few days."

"Out of the question," Sophie says, at the same time as Leo's, "I don't think that's a good idea, Mikey," and Raph's, "You think Sensei's going to be OK with that?"

Sophie draws herself up to her full height and glares down at Mikey. "I just got Jasmine back from alien tentacle things. I'm not going to turn around and send her off with, uh, turtle-men who I barely know."

"We're mutant turtles," Mikey corrects.

"And technically, we'd be turtle-teenagers, not turtle-men," Donnie says.

Sophie grimaces. "That really doesn't help your case."

"Mikey, you know we're not supposed to take anyone back to the lair," Leo says.

"She needs to be somewhere safe from the Kraang, and we've got one place that is! April's been to the lair plenty of times. Even the Pulverizer got to go to the lair!"

"That was an accident!" Donnie protests.

"Do I get a vote here?" Jasmine says sharply. "I think Mikey's right. It's not safe for me to try to tag along with you, Soph, and their place sounds safest."

"Please, guys," Mikey adds, opening his eyes wide and letting his lower lip tremble just a little. "This really means a lot to me."

Leo gives an exasperated sigh. "Fine."

"I'm still not fine with it," Sophie says. "Even if everything else was more normal, I wouldn't let you go off unchaperoned with the Internet boyfriend you just met."

Raph laughs. "Oh, they won't be unchaperoned. Sensei will probably keep them ten feet apart at all times."

Jasmine's feline eyes narrow as she looks at her sister. "Certainly you didn't go anywhere with Ryan when you barely knew him. Or Joel, or…"

Sophie groans. "Why do I ever tell you anything?" Sophie asks. "Anyway, just because I've done dumb things doesn't mean you should do the same ones."

Mikey gives Sophie his most earnest look, the one that usually makes Raph smack him. He doesn't this time. "I promise we'll take good care of her. We'll keep her safe."

Sophie's clearly not happy about this, but she gives a nod and turns to Donnie. "When are those new phones going to be ready?"

"I can have them tomorrow night," Donnie says.

"OK. We're going to set up a time to meet tomorrow night, so I can get my phone and check in with my sister. And if anything happens to her while she's with you, I will not stop until I've found you and ended you."

"It'll be OK," Jasmine tells Sophie, touching her hand.

"Can you drop me off back at Nikki's? I need to tell her she's got to move because of me," Sophie says sourly.

Jasmine's eyes go wide and her ears go back. "Erwin! What about Erwin?"

"Nikki and I will look after him," Sophie says. "Unless you want to try to take him with you?"

Jasmine ponders that a moment. "No, he's been through enough scary stuff for tonight. Hug him for me, though?"

"Who's this?" Raph asks specifically.

Mikey knows this one from their chats. "Her cat, Erwin."

Donnie suddenly smiles, maybe for the first time since getting pepper-sprayed. "Did you name him after…?"

"Yep," Jasmine says. She sounds a little sheepish and a little proud.

Leo guns the engine. "Donnie, can you navigate for me? I think Mikey's too distracted."

Mikey is especially distracted at the moment by Jasmine leaning over to whisper to him. "Mikey, I don't know which brother is which."

Feeling her breath on the side of his head makes Mikey's heart do a weird fluttering thing. "Um…" So this is what happens to Donnie when he gets all stammer around April. "Oh! So Leo's up front driving. He's our leader and tells us how Ninjas Should Behave."

"Hey, Leo," Jasmine says quietly.

"Hey," Leo says without turning around.

"This here is Donnie. He's the smartest one. He fixes all the things that, uh, break around the lair."

"The things that you break, you mean," Donnie shoots back.

"And this is Raph. He's the grumpy one."

"Why, you…" Raph grunts and grabs at Mikey, who twirls away from him. Raph winds up and takes a swing at him, and Mikey ducks away. They repeat this several times, Mikey bouncing up and down between Raph's attacks, until Jasmine starts giggling. Even Sophie is chuckling a bit, though she looks like she hates herself for it. Mikey spares a fond look at Jasmine – she is so pretty, he thinks – and promptly gets walloped atop the head by Raph.

They pull up outside Nikki's apartment building while Raph is still issuing threats. Sophie and Jasmine share a tight hug, and Sophie whispers something in Jasmine's ear that makes her sister give a quick grin. Then Sophie glares at the turtles. "Tomorrow night at seven. Like we said." She must have talked to Leo while Mikey was playing keep-away-from-Raph. "Or I end you."

"We'll be there," Leo says unhappily.

She gets out, and Donnie sets a course for home. "Back to the lair," he comments.

"You all call it the lair?" Jasmine asks. "I thought that was just Mikey being Mikey. It sounds ominous."

"No, it's great!" Mikey says, and spends the rest of their drive home telling Jasmine about all the lair's awesome features, the TV and the pinball machine and the comic books. Jasmine starts smiling at him, so he keeps going, describing lair features that might not exactly exist, like the roller coaster and pizza fountain. He's still going when they stumble into the lair and see the tall figure awaiting them.

"Dudes, Sensei's up!" Mikey interrupts himself to say. "We are so dead!"

"Maybe not all of us," Donnie says thoughtfully.

Gingerly, the four turtles approach their father, Jasmine hanging back behind them. Sensei waves a finger at them as soon as they come within range. "What is the meaning of this? Going out a second time, with no thought to informing…" His gaze falls on Jasmine. "And who is this?"

Leo, Donnie, and Raph all turn to Mikey. "Why don't you explain this, Mikey?" Leo suggests with a gleam in his eye.

Mikey steps forward with a gulp. "She's… she's my girlfriend, Sensei."

"Your girlfriend?" Sensei's eyebrows shoot up, and his staff points at Mikey. "Several questions come to mind. Why have I heard nothing of this girl? Why did the four of you decide to bring her to our secret lair? And does she have a name?"

No, Sensei is definitely not happy. Mikey opens his mouth to answer and realizes he only remembers the last question. "Jasmine, Sensei. Her name is Jasmine." He reaches back to gesture Jasmine forward.

She stares, wide-eyed, for a moment. Then she steps forward and, to Mikey's surprise, places her human hand firmly over his three fingers. She nods her head to Sensei. "It's an honor to meet you, sir. Mikey has said so much about you."

Sensei's eyes narrow dangerously. "Indeed, he has?!"

"She was being kidnapped by the Kraang! We had to help her!" Mikey blurts.

Sensei takes a deep breath. Mikey senses a lecture coming, but he loses track of the words almost immediately. The soft, warm hand atop his is thoroughly distracting. He glances up at Jasmine's face. Her eyes are twitching from side to side – what is she looking at? Following her gaze, he realizes that, as Sensei speaks, his beard is swinging slightly to and fro. Jasmine's cat hand is starting to twitch as well as she settles back onto her heels. She's getting ready to pounce.

"No!" he yells, reaching past her to grab the offending paw.

Jasmine takes back her left hand from Mikey's grip and covers her face with it. "I am so sorry, sir. Sometimes, it – the cat in me – is hard to control."

"You will master the cat in time. Just as I have gained the control to stand before a cat – without flinching." The solemnity of the moment is somewhat undermined by Mikey's brothers trying not to snicker in the background.

"Yes, sir," Jasmine says meekly.

Sensei raises his gaze to the rest of the turtles. "It is late, and you must rest. We will discuss tonight's events further in the morning." His eyes return to Jasmine. "I certainly will not turn you out into the night. You may sleep in Leonardo's room."

"But where am I going to sleep?" Leo protests.

"You will bunk with Michelangelo. Be sure that he does not stir from his bed again tonight."

"Why do I have to-"

"Do not think, my son, that I have forgotten all those things which you neglected to mention to me. We will speak on these topics more in the morning."

Leo gulps.

"Go on then, to bed!" Sensei adds.

"Good night, Jasmine," Mikey says, grinning despite Sensei's disapproval.

"Good night, Mikey, everyone," Jasmine says.

Mikey's mind is whirling, but as he falls into bed, he realizes how tired he is. He falls asleep almost immediately, and dreams of eating pizza with Jasmine while they run across rainbows and ride rollercoasters.

#

Jasmine's dreams are less peaceful. She's running away from the men in suits, their guns pinging behind her, and just when she thinks she's gotten clear of them, she turns a corner and is confronted with the monkey, bellowing and loping towards her. She runs and runs, only to collide with a giant rat-man who raises his staff and sternly tells her, "This will hurt, but it is only for your own good. You should never have come here…"

She wakes up, gasping, in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room, the sheets on her left side soaked with sweat. (She doesn't sweat much anymore on the cat side. She's found that washing it with her tongue helps her stay cool, but that freaks Sophie out, so she usually uses a washcloth instead.) it takes her a moment to remember where she is and what's happened, and a few more to actually believe it. She says it out loud, experimentally. "I was captured by aliens, but then Mikey and Sophie came and rescued me."

It sounds mad, but that's what her life has been since she touched the goo. So instead of continuing to lie in bed and mull it over, she slips out of bed and stretches. Somehow, impossibly, her lost suitcase from the night before has appeared beside the bed. She's glad to ditch her grubby clothes in favor of a clean pair of jeans and the I HEART SCIENCE t-shirt Dad got her last year.

She feels hungry. She probably shouldn't be surprised after all of the unaccustomed activity, mostly consisting of running away. Leo doesn't seem to have any food in his neatly organized room, though she is delighted to discover a complete run of Space Heroes comics. That merits investigation, later. She feels nervous and hesitant about venturing beyond this room. Telling herself it's silly, she gingerly pushes open the door and steps onto the stairs.

She hears the sound of weapons clashing and flinches before realizing that it's just the turtles training. Donnie and Raph are sparring in the ring, with Donnie, it appears, getting the worst of it. She's glad to see he seems recovered from last night. Mikey is going through a series of poses with his nunchaku. He catches sight of her and gives her a wave and a broad smile. Jasmine waves and smiles back.

Mikey's Sensei – does he even have a name? – is talking animatedly with Leo, but they break off their conversation as they see her. "A good morning to you," the rat-man says. "Help yourself to breakfast, in the kitchen," he adds, gesturing to a door.

Jasmine wonders what to expect as she follows Splinter's direction. What do turtles and rats eat? Judging by the selection of sugary cereals she finds on the counter, their dietary preferences are all too human. She sniffs at the boxes, but none of them smell appetizing. Why did her digestive system have to go all obligate carnivore? She pours some milk in a bowl and laps at it, then dives back into the fridge. Something in there smells good. She follows her nose to a pizza box bearing the scrawled note "MIKEYS KEEP OUT."

Opening the box reveals two slices of pepperoni pizza. She immediately peels the pepperoni from the pizza and bolts them down one by one. It's not until she swallows the last and is gazing at the denuded, now much less interesting pizza that a wave of shame hits her. Thanks for your hospitality, Mikey, I ate all the meat off your pizza.

She wanders back out of the kitchen, vaguely thinking she'll apologize to Mikey, but he's sparring with Leo now, the rat-man watching attentively. No, Sensei, she corrects herself. "Rat-man" is far too disrespectful an appellation, given the esteem in which Mikey and his brothers clearly hold him. She debates going up and saying something to him, but can't manage to work up the courage. He seems so stern, and so large.

She settles for sitting down on the floor, cross-legged. Mikey, noticing her, turns and gives her another wave, at which point Leo hooks his feet out from under him and he falls, hard, to the ground. Jasmine winces and calls out, "Sorry!"

"'Sall good!" Mikey answers cheerily, bouncing back into a standing position and whirling his nunchaku in Leo's direction.

"You must focus, Michelangelo!" Sensei admonishes.

Jasmine makes herself as small and quiet as she can, like she used to do in the school cafeteria. Now that she is less distracted by hunger, she is fascinated by seeing the turtles training. She's streamed a fair number of martial-arts movies, but it's different seeing the moves in person. The turtles move in an elaborate dance mixing grace, physicality, and raw power. A potentially extremely painful dance, Jasmine notes, as Raph slips by Donnie's guard and clobbers him on the side of the head. Jasmine winces again, but Donnie is right back into the fight, driving Raph back with a spinning staff.

She spends the most time watching Mikey. All the turtles are clearly highly trained and expert with their weapons, but Mikey is the most fun to watch. He's in constant motion, bouncing and rolling, changing the direction of his nunchaku without warning, occasionally managing to catch Leo off guard. His muscles clench and ripple under his skin in a way that Jasmine decides is completely unfair. She gets caught up in the movement of those muscles, realizes she's staring, and blushes furiously. She'd better look at something else, anything else. Her eyes go to Sensei's beard. Not that!

She shuts her eyes and starts reciting the periodic table. By the time she's made it up to neptunium (she never skips the actinides – that's cheating), she feels less hot and bothered and can go back to watching Mikey. He moves around like a gymnast. She abruptly feels very aware of how chubby and out-of-shape she is. Is that a disappointment for Mikey?

But it's hard to feel like she might be disappointing him when he comes bounding over to her with an enormous grin after Sensei calls a halt for lunch. One of the brothers calls out, "Can't wait to get to your girlfriend, Mikey?" and Mikey yells back, "That's right!" without breaking stride. Their affectionate teasing makes Jasmine miss Sophie, which is silly. She manages OK when Sophie goes to work, and it hasn't even been that long.

"Want some lunch?" Mikey asks her. "I saved some pizza I can share with you."

"Mikey's sharing his pizza?" Donnie asks. "He must really like you."

Jasmine blushes again at that. "Uh, about your pizza, Mikey… I sort of ate all the pepperoni off it."

Mikey's face falls for a moment, but he quickly recovers and brings the huge smile back. "Want to share some cheese pizza for lunch?" he asks.

"You're so sweet," she tells him without thinking. She blushes again. "Um, I don't really eat pizza any more though. It doesn't really agree with me."

"Oh!" he says, looking thoroughly bewildered. "Do you eat, like, cat things, then? I don't think we have any cat food…"

Jasmine sticks out her tongue. "Ew," she says. "I eat meat, mostly. Hamburgers, chicken, and turkey are all good. And I really like sushi."

Mikey gives her a thumbs-up. "Got it! I'll be right back." He sprints toward the turnstiles across the lair.

Jasmine sits on the floor and waits for him to come back. She can hear the brothers banging around in the kitchen. After a bit, Raph and Leo emerge and sit down at the side of the pit to eat. Jasmine wonders if she should say something to them, but they seem absorbed in their meals.

Mikey comes running back across the lair, holding a pair of dripping fish by their tails. Jasmine sniffs as he draws closer and takes in the aroma of very fresh fish. She squeaks involuntarily in appreciation. Mikey skids to a stop in front of her, holds the fish out, and says, "I got you sushi! Um, sort of."

She has to restrain herself from ripping the fish out of his hand. "This is great, Mikey. Thanks!" She takes the fish, tears it open, and starts devouring the rich, tender flesh.

Leo coughs, and she hears Raph say, "Well, at least she won't be too freaked out by watching Mikey eat." She blushes but keeps on eating. The fish tastes so much better than Mikey's pepperoni.

"Where did you get these, Mikey?" she asks between bites.

Mikey ducks his head. "Uh, you probably don't want to know. I'll go grab my pizza." He heads for the kitchen. A few minutes pass before he returns with pizza in hand and Donnie in tow.

"Jasmine," Donnie says. While she's heard him confidently bantering with his brothers, he seems more tentative addressing her now, almost awkward. She appreciates the awkwardness not being all on her side. "I have your custom T-phone ready. I'm still working on your sister's, but I thought you might want to try yours out." He hands her the green, turtle-shelled phone with evident pride.

"Just don't say…" Mikey starts.

"Mikey, no! Not again!" Donnie yells at him. He takes a deep breath. "What my brother means to say is that if it's ever necessary, you can order your phone to self-destruct by saying 'T-phone,' then immediately afterward without putting a bunch of words in the middle like I'm doing here, 'self-destruct.'"

"That's… good to know?" Jasmine says, feeling her ears twitch. She can't imagine why she would need to blow up her phone, but has a disconcerting sense that after enough time with Mikey and his brothers the idea will seem perfectly normal.

"Well, give it a try," Donnie says.

Jasmine thumbs the button at the base of the phone. It comes up, displaying "JASMINE WALKER" across the top.

That's not my name. Almost, almost she says it out loud, but it would feel like slapping Donnie in the face, and of Mikey's three brothers he's the one who seems most friendly to her. It didn't seem worth the explanation that Sophie had changed her last name to Mom's when she moved out, and Jasmine had kept Dad's. She wasn't sure if the turtles they even had last names; they certainly hadn't mentioned them. What difference could it make to them whether she was Jasmine Walker or Jasmine Rockwell?

She glances up to see both Donnie and Mikey giving her anxious looks. The sign of their concern brings a smile to her face. "Thank you," she says, and starts playing around with the phone. She doesn't recognize the OS, but it's certainly fast and responsive. She brings up the text messaging app and smiles more widely when she sees that the first contact is "MIKEY!"

"I figured you'd use that one the most," Donnie says. "He made me put in the exclamation points. Anyway, this will let you two talk without tipping off the Kraang to your location."

"What about tipping you off?" Mikey asks suspiciously.

Donnie looks wounded and spreads his big green hands. "I promise not to eavesdrop on your t-phone conversations." He wanders back in the direction of the kitchen.

Jasmine goes back to thumbing through the phone features. It's definitely an improvement over her old phone, but it doesn't quite feel like hers, and she suddenly keenly feels the loss of the pictures and apps on the lost phone. Hopefully Sophie will be able to recover her lost computer with the backups. Tears unexpectedly well up in her eyes as she thinks of everything she's had to leave behind.

"You okay?" Mikey asks her.

She blinks, trying to clear her eyes. "Yeah. It's just been… a lot has happened in the last few days."

"It's gonna be OK," Mikey says confidently. "We'll see your sis tonight, and she'll have things under control. And we'll help you two out if you need anything."

He is such a sweetheart. "Thanks, Mikey."

"Need a distraction? 'Cause I brought you something," Mikey says.

"Mikey, you didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to," he says. He pulls a multicolored length of string from his belt and dangles it in front of her. Her right hand reaches for it of its own volition, and Mikey quickly jerks it up out of her reach. Jasmine bounds to her feet and reaches forward to rip it from his hand.

"Again, again!" she laughs, pulling the string off her claws and returning it to him.

They repeat the game four times, until they both collapse in laughter, the string firmly gripped in Jasmine's cat hand. She leans forward and kisses Mikey once on the tip of his nose. "Thank you," she tells him.

Mikey gives her a broad, dazed smile. She swears his eyes look like little hearts. "I love being a turtle," he says softly.