Disclaimer: see chapter one

"Hey, Percy," the dog said. "But, it's R, now."

"You're R?" Percy exclaimed.

The cat looked confused. "I'm lost," he said.

"Oh, uh, sorry, Klunk. This is Percy Jordan, my...um...owner. Percy, this is Klunk. He used to be Michelangelo's pet cat."

Klunk held out a hand and smiled, his tiny sharp teeth glistening in the white light. "Pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Jordan."

Percy took his hand and shook it. "Call me Percy. Mr. Jordan was my father." He released Klunk's hand and looked between the dog and cat. "I'm relieved, shocked and, quite possibly, a bit terrified."

R chuckled. "I guess that's to be expected," he replied. "After all, the last time we saw each other I was no more than a wordless mutt."

"R," Klunk hissed.

R grimaced. "Sorry. Poor choice of words," he apologized, his ears drooping.

"Why is it a poor choice of words?" Percy wanted to know.

"Mutt means something different nowadays," Klunk explained, claws tapping against the tray he was still holding.

It was Percy's turn to be lost. "Okay," he said slowly.

"A Mutt is an animal or human that hasn't mutated properly," R told him. "They're wild and savage. Walking on all fours and only communicating with snarls and growls."

Percy thought back to the hospital and the first pack of wolves that had attacked him. Had they once been human? He hoped not. But with every new mutant he saw, he couldn't help but wonder if they were human. Just how many lives had he destroyed?

"So if Mutts are the wild mutants, what do you call the others?" Percy asked.

"Scavengers," R answered.

Percy nodded. "Mutts and Scavengers. Got it. That explains some things."

"What else did you need to know?" Klunk asked.

Percy looked around the cafeteria. "How about explaining to me how a virus can cause all this?" he quizzed, holding his hand out to the room.

R smiled. "That's why I left you that note," he said. "When I first mutated I had the same questions you did. But, then I found the Turtles. Apparently, they had been keeping tabs on the virus, too. And when I saw how you were unaffected after being infected by Susan..."

Percy's head whipped around. "What?" he asked.

R whimpered and his ears fell flat against his head. "I thought you remembered that bit."

"I've been asleep for four years. I'm having a conversation with my pet dog. For all I know I could still be asleep and this is all just some crazy dream my overworked brain has cooked up," Percy said. "Forgive me if I don't trust my memory, right now."

"Fair enough," R agreed. "But, yes. To answer your unspoken question, Susan infected you. You fell into a coma shortly afterwards. No one could explain it. It was like your body just went into hibernation. I found the test results a couple of days after I changed. No one cared to see a walking German Shepherd going through the hospital since most of them were either dead or mutating themselves. And when I saw that you were infected, but weren't changing or dying, I knew that there was hope for curing the sickness. So, I kept you alive for as long as I could, but the supplies eventually ran out. I kept a close eye on you, and when I was confident that you weren't going to perish, I wrote the note, packed up and headed here to New York, knowing that you would eventually wake up and have questions of your own."

"So, you led me here," Percy said. "But, what I don't understand is why you thought I could help. I tried to contain the virus and look what happened."

"Yes, but don't you see? You're still human," R pointed out. "Infected, yet unchanged. In your blood is the key to unlocking the cure."

Percy couldn't help but laugh. He put a hand over his mouth. "Sorry," he apologized. He lowered his hand. "You think I'm the cure? The guy who helped send the world to hell? Why would anyone want to put their fate in my hands? For all you know, whatever's going on with me could end up making everything worse."

"That's why drugs are tested and challenged," Klunk told him. "To make sure of any side effects."

Percy shook his head and began backing away. "This is nuts," he muttered under his breath. "This is a dream. It's too crazy to be real."

"This is real, Percy," R said, his voice tone rising. "Like it or not, you're the only one who can set things straight."

"Do you not see the looks these animals are giving me?" Percy asked.

"Hope?" Klunk guessed.

Percy gave him a hard look. "Doubt," he corrected. "Mistrust. Hate. Why was I unaffected and not them? What makes me any different than them? What makes me so special?"

"We're hoping to find that out," Leonardo's voice sounded, making Percy turn around.

The leader in blue came to a stop behind him, folding his hands behind his back. Percy had forgotten Leonardo had been there.

"Perhaps the reason you're seeing the negative, is because it's what you're feeling yourself," Leonardo mused.

Percy could feel his heart break and his eyes begin to burn. "I couldn't save my own fiancé," he whispered remorsefully. "How do you expect me to save complete strangers?"

"By careful analysis of what flows through your veins," Leonardo told him. "We're not going to force you, Percy. The choice is yours. And you're welcome to stay here whether you help us or not."

Percy looked around the room. Every eye had turned to him, each mutant waiting with baited breath for his decision. Percy looked down at his hands. He was too late to save his loved ones, but maybe he could do right by giving these people back their humanity. He met Leonardo's gaze again.

"I'll help in any way I can," Percy said.

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