1377: Mutants, Souvenirs and “Shihu”

Mutants, Souvenirs and “Shihu”

Raphael, who carried twin sai, couldn't help but interject, "Batman, we're born and bred New Yorkers. We've lived here for fifteen years."

Leo glared unhappily at Raphael, annoyed at him for exposing them.

Luke nodded. "It's true that I've never heard of you. After all, I'm more interested in bad guys. However, what photos did that reporter take for you to insist that she delete them?"

Mikey continued, "Because she caught us ruining The Foot Clan's business."

"The Foot Clan?" Luke looked at the information from Alfred. "A smuggling ring in Newark?"

Leo couldn't help but say, "Newark is where their base is. Originally, they were mainly unloading goods at the docks in New York, then… you frightened them off in the last few months. Now, they're active in Newark, and only deliver goods here every now and then."

Mikey chimed in, "That reporter took photos of us fighting the Foot Clan at the docks. We asked her to hand over her phone and delete the photos and videos, but she fainted from shock. It's not like we could leave her there for the Foot Clan, so we could only bring her back."

Luke nodded, deep in thought. "You do stand out a little."

Humanoid mutants really were a little scary. Thankfully, these four guys weren't too tall. They were also green and shiny, and had round heads that looked cute.

Thinking for a moment, Luke asked, "Have you been in the sewers all this time?"

If these guys went out often, they definitely wouldn't have been able to escape his surveillance.

Leo hesitated, then nodded. "Yes, we've always been here."

Luke asked, "Do you know about the disappearances in the sewers in the southwest corner of Brooklyn?"

Leo shook his head. "No. We usually avoid humans. We don't know much about that situation."

Mikey interjected, "We can help you look into it, as long as you give me an autograph, Black Cat."

Leo was angry. "If Master doesn't kill you when we get back…"

He suddenly stopped and looked at Luke and Selina. "You didn't hear what I said, right?"

Luke was silent.

It wasn't good to burst a kid's bubble, but he was unwilling to lie.

These four turtles have a master? Selina thought.

So, the man who smelled like a rat was their master? That's too unhygienic, Luke thought.

Luke turned to look at Donnie, who wielded a bo staff. "Do you like tinkering with things?"

This guy was wearing glasses and had the most electronic equipment on him. He was clearly different from the other guys, who had more brawn than brains.

Donnie nodded. "I know a little about electronics, machines, and the Internet."

Luke nodded. "Then I can provide you with a bunch of parts. You can decide what you want. Consider it your reward for helping me gather information."

Stunned for a moment, Donnie was then excited. "Really? Woohoo, I don't have to pick up junk anymore."

Mikey said, "That, I think pizza is a better reward. Also, it has to have a lot of cheese on it which can be pulled into long strings…"

"Why do I feel that they like eating more than I do?" Selina couldn't help but whisper to Luke.

Luke said, "We'll know once we try."

"Brie? Parmesan? Cheddar? Mozzarella? Blue?" He rattled off a series of names.

The four guys' eyes widened.

Mikey couldn't help but ask, "All on one pizza?"

Luke had a strange expression on his face. That… was that edible?

Unless it was a serendipitous discovery or a product of a long-term trial, this sort of combo would taste terrible.

He deliberated for a moment before he said, "It's impossible to mix them all together, but a few of each isn't hard."

In any case, he only needed to prepare the raw materials for the smart kitchenware at home. He didn't have to worry about anything else.

Actually, his pizzas tasted so-so. He and Selina didn't care for it especially and hardly ate it, so the taste of whatever pizza he made was naturally very ordinary.

When Mikey heard the latter half of Luke's words, he turned around and looked at Donnie. "Let's change it. You can still use your junk anyway. At most, we'll go to the dumpster and help you dig some out."

Donnie looked conflicted. He wanted parts and he also wanted pizza but he couldn't have both. This…

Looking at the four gluttons and recalling how Luke said that they were still kids, Selina suddenly sympathized with them. "Dummies, consider the pizza a gift. We'll give that and the parts to you, alright?"

Ding! Four pairs of small green eyes immediately sparkled as they stared at her.

Mikey swallowed. "Really?"

Selina looked at Luke suspiciously and whispered, "Did I say something wrong? Or has the price of pizza shot up recently?"

Luke didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He simply nodded at the four turtles. "What Bastet said."

Mikey and Raphael whooped. For them, pizza was clearly more important than parts which couldn't be eaten.

Even the most dependable Leo cracked a smile. As for Donnie, who would have both, he was even happier and didn't say anything.

Luke took out a phone and tossed it to Donnie. "My contact and some information is in there. You probably have a better understanding of this. Once you get it, tell your master. If he's willing, we can meet sometime."

Stumped for a moment, the four turtles were then alarmed. "Not good, we have to hurry back, or Master will notice that we snuck out." They were about to leave.

Mikey, however, suddenly turned around. "Black Cat, I'm really a big fan of yours. Can I have your autograph?"

Inside the mask, Selina rolled her eyes and threw a black rod at him. At the same time, she turned off the multi-purpose rod's defense mechanism via the virtual projection. "No autograph. Do you want this instead?"

Stunned for a moment, Mikey then exulted. "Yes! Thank you, Black Cat."

Selina said, "I'm Bastet."

"Thank you, Sister Bastet," Mikey immediately said.

Raphael looked at Luke.

Luke reached for his waist. "I don't have that. This…"

He suddenly realized that except for Mikey, all the other turtles were staring at him.

Helpless, he felt around his waist again, and the three bat darts didn't spin as he tossed them to Leo, Raphael, and Doni. "Consider them souvenirs."

They each held a bat dart, but none of the three turtles looked disappointed.

Although it wasn't a weapon for them to use, it was a "souvenir" personally acknowledged by Batman, which was the same as the difference between a regular baseball and an autographed baseball.

In fact, these three bat darts were enchanted with credit points, and could really be considered to have been "autographed."

Luke waved his hand. "Hurry up and go. Donnie, remember to read the information on the phone."2

The four turtles were elated. Then, their expressions turned serious as they bowed and cupped their fists in a salute. "Thank you, shihu, for your guidance."

Luke's lips twitched, but he didn't say anything. Where did they learn this half-baked Mandarin? He wasn't the turtles' master.

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