Grifted Ch1: Mikey's Day Out

It was a normal day, a nice day even; one that was written about in books. The sky was bright blue and the clouds were scattered about like cotton balls on a painting. Sunshine warmed the air and filled the life in Central Park with vigorous energy. It was in the ending days of spring; the time when the snow had finally stopped falling and the days grew warmer. The nature lovers were out and about and Mikey was no exception. The warm weather had drawn him out of the sewers and his fun loving attitude was almost getting on the other patron's nerves.

He was dressed in causal jeans and an oversized t-shirt, ball cap pulled low over his face. He zipped down the sidewalks nearly missing a couple people every now and again. Shouts followed after him, but he paid them little mind. Leo had gotten him the skateboard for Christmas and had forbid him from riding around the lair. Michalangelo had just taken it around the sewers, but after while he had grown bored with the same tunnels over and over again so he put the board away and promised himself he'd take it topside as soon as he could. This was the first good day where he had no other commitments and could just cruise around and enjoy the fresh air.

As he neared one of the ponds, the youngest stopped and plopped himself on a bench. He had come prepared and whipped out a PSP as he waited for his brothers. Naturally the rule of not going topside alone still stood, so Leo had decided they would make a family outing of it. Even Master Splinter had agreed to come out to enjoy the sun and seeing that the style of the day was big and baggy, all five of them could easily hide what they were as they roamed the city. He would likely get an ear full from Leo when they finally caught up to him, but he didn't really care; he got to ride his skateboard the way he'd been wanting to.

"Dude, is that Tekken 5?" Mikey hadn't even noticed the person that had sat next to him. He had been so engrossed in his game he wasn't sure how long they'd been there. Mike gave a slight nod not bothering to take his eyes from the game, it wasn't really a game he could take his eyes off. Tilting the portable gaming system slightly to give his new companion a better view, he finished off the boss and sat back. Stretching and groaning a little to loosen his muscles, Michalangelo finally turned to take in the person next to him. There wasn't much to see, a loose hoodie covered most of the upper half of the body and baggy dark wash jeans tailed the ground covering whatever shoes were there. A beanie sat over a mass of dark hair hiding most of the face. He wasn't sure why, but he had a feeling whoever this was had to be a girl.

"I love that game, but I'm not very good at it. I can never seem to get the hang of games, but I love to watch them. I use to go to the arcade just to watch." She leaned back on the bench mimicking Mikey. She snorted and giggled a little.

"I'm Dali. Sorry I just invite myself to your game. You're just the most amusing person I've seen today and I was getting tired of people watching." She tilted her head to meet Mikey's eyes and he grinned at her. She was kind of cute even though he couldn't see her.

"Mikey. I don't blame you. I've got mad gaming skills." He laughed and shrugged. "And I'm pretty sure I'm the awesomest person in the city." He jumped a little when she burst into laughter.

"Second to me, though."

"Of course." The pause was between them was anything but uncomfortable. Mikey was content to just sit next to her and relax. He had almost forgotten about his father and brothers.

"So, what brings you to the park?" Dali was staring out over the pond watching some geese lazily swimming across the surface. It had made Mikey want to go swimming, but he knew better than to just jump into the pond. First, there was a 'no swimming' sign posted just about every two feet around the thing and second, it wasn't that warm. He was sure to get unwanted attention  if he tried it.

"Michalangelo!" Leo's voice was as harsh as the look on his face. Not only had he gone out of eye sight, but here he was with a complete stranger. Mikey kind of shrugged off the bench and turned to face his brother with his head hung low. A few crocodile tears and he'd be home free, even with Splinter slowly making his way to them.

"Oh.. Hey Leo.." Mikey sneaked a peek and grinned at his brother sheepishly before he dropped his gaze again. He had picked up this habit off kicking at the ground from a cartoon where a little girl had done it and had won over her big brother; so far it hadn't failed him either.

"Mikey, you know you're not supposed to wonder off like that." Leo's tone was no less harsh though there was the underlying worry that usually laced Leonardo's words when he spoke to his youngest brother. Mikey had him just were he wanted him.

"Dude, what the hell? It's not like he's five." Mikey's head snapped up at Dali almost as fast as Leo's.

"This is none of your concern. This is a family matter that you have no business in." Leo could give anyone the Fearless Leader voice and make them shiver, but Mikey was staring intently at the girl and he didn't notice her flinch.

"I just don't get it." Dali had stood and stretched, acting causal and rounded the bench to face Leo head on. "He's obviously old enough to come to the park in broad day light alone. It's not like someone is going to kidnap him." Mikey finally got a look at Dali's coffee brown eyes. They kind of reminded him of Donnie's only with the raw intensity of Raph's. Mikey liked her. Still, he wasn't so sure how Leo would take to the challenge of a stranger; girl or not, he wouldn't back down easily.

"Who is you're new friend?" Luckily Master Splinter had caught up to them with Donnie holding onto his arm to help him around. Raph was standing behind them a wicked grin on his face. It wasn't often that someone, let alone a stranger, ever stood up to Leo like he did. Mikey could see Leo take a deep breath and back away from Dali. Just the presence of their father seemed to put him at ease; leader or not, it was always nice to give the reigns to someone else. At least, that was what Leo told him one time after Mikey had asked him about Splinter.

"This is Dollie." Mikey piped up, bouncing slightly with excitement that his father wasn't chastising him as Leo had. "She likes video games."

"I like to watch video games. I'm not very good at them." Dali grinned and walked past Leo to where the others were, making it blatantly obvious that she didn't fear him. Either he didn't notice or he didn't care, because nothing on Leo's carefully placed expression moved. "I'm Dali. It's a pleasure to meet you." She extended her hand to Splinter and to Mikey's surprise Splinter shook it.

"The pleasure is mine, Dali. These are my boys. I believe you know Michalangelo. You've met Leonardo. This is Donatello, and that is Raphael." Splinter introduced them each in turn, letting each get their hellos in before he continued. "And I am Splinter."

"So, Renaissance painters and something that hurts when it gets stuck under your skin. I like it." Dali smiled and Mikey was shocked to see his father actually laugh. It wasn't long before Mikey caught on to why his father and brother's seemed so comfortable with her. How he could have missed it was anyone's guess, but there it was staring him in the face. Dali was a mutant turtle.