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((Author's Note: Actually meeting Michelangelo the Orange has stirred up my muse, so this part of the fic just came flowing out of my fingers. Plus, it introduces a girl that...well... ninja You'll see what roll she plays in this story...))

Mikey couldn't stop grinning as he drove his "Cowabunga Carl" van down the street. One, it was a gorgeous day for August, and it was still before 10--thus, not as hot as it would be later on. Two, his client for today is one of his good ones, and she had hired him for her second child's birthday party. Three, Leo and Raph are starting to act like normal again--which was VERY good. It just wasn't the same when they were stepping around each other like...like they were walking on eggshells.

~Well, they're talkin' to each other like they use to,~ he thought as he navigated his way through the maze of streets and fellow moving vehicles. ~That's good. It just didn't feel right to not have Raph be all tough, and for Leo to not act all cool and in control...~

As he parked his vehicle in front of his client's house, he doubled-checked the oversized fake zipper to make sure that it wouldn't fall of. He had that happen once or twice; thank God no one had noticed it when it did! He then hopped out of the front seat and quickly moved towards the back of the van, where his huge party helmet, foam nun-chucks, and party supplies were being kept. He couldn't help but grin; a good client usually meant that the kids were admiring lil angels--a rarity, he had discovered in his line of work. All in all, he was looking forward to a good day with totally excellent pay.

The over-sized head was on, the foam nun-chucks were tucked into his belt, and he was carrying the first half-dozen boxes of pizza when--

"WATCH OOOUUUUTT!!!"

"Huh?" Mikey turned to try and see where that cry came from--and a split second later, something collided with him and sent him flying to the ground in a spectacular shower of party props, half-open pizzas, and flying slices of the pizza himself. Groans drifted up from the messy pile, and the only thing the "Mikester" could think of was, ~Owwwwwwwwwwwww...~

"Oh, God," The other thing--or girl, actually--groaned as she laid atop of him. "Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no! Please tell me, God, that I did not ruin a big delivery!"

"Uhhh...you okay?" Mikey finally replied, removing a slice of sausage pizza from his head. "You're not hurt are you?"

"Ugh... I-I think I'm fine..." The woman replied as she propped herself up onto her knees, pushing her long golden curls back as her green-blue eyes met his brown ones; naturally, Mikey hadn't noticed that his fake head had gone flying during the collision, and so she got a good view of the real turtle.

Mikey, of course, didn't realize all this. He was too stunned by her beauty to even think of anything else. And she certainly was a beautiful babe, with her golden curls and sun-tanned skin. She definitely was dressed like a pro skateboarder...there was even a skateboard lying nearby, though it looked unusually high-tech, and lacking wheels. He pegged her to be around 18 years old, tops.

"...oh, my god..." The woman murmured. "I... Are you real?" She reached out and touched his cheek. "Wow...you're smooth..."

A bright blush covered the turtle's cheeks as his brain finally caught up to him. "Uhhh, l-l-lemme help you up," he stammered, rising to his feet and giving her a hand.

"Thank you..." She then added, upon seeing him brush off some pizza slices, "Oh, no! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to wreck your business!"

"Ah, it's okay--really! I'm fine! I'll just go and get some more pizza--"

"I can get it for ya!" She quickly offered. "I got cash on me, and my board--ack! The deck!!" She quickly grabbed it, and turned it over to reveal some sparks on one end of the underside. "Awww, maaaaaan!" She moaned. "Sis is gonna kill me!"

"I've never seen a deck like that before," the teenage mutant quipped.

"It's a prototype for an anti-gravity deck; it was one of the last official projects Daddy had in the works before he--" She stopped, looking down on the ground.

"...I'm sorry."

"Don't be; at least he's at peace..." She sighed, and then giggled. "Oh, how silly of me! I haven't even introduced myself! I'm Goldilocks Winter."

"Goldilocks? The 'Golden Eagle' of the X Games? Wow!" Mikey happily shook her hand. "I'm honored to meet you! I'm Mikey--Michelangelo Hamato."

"Long name!" Goldilocks quipped. "You must have a traditional dad--odd one, too, if he's a Japanese guy giving ya an Italian name."

"Heh-heh! Right on the money! It's kind of a long story..."

"I'm sure it is..." She then sighed again and looked at her now-damaged board. "Man, Sis is gonna have my head for this!"

"Your sis runs the company?"

"Yeah... Her name's Natalie." Winters rolled her eyes. "She's a stuck up p***k who cares too much about profit and too little about fair treatment of employees. I wouldn't be surprised if I go home to hear that her PA left on grounds of ill treatment."

"Whoah! That bad, huh?"

"Yeah... Worse, she's my legal guardian. With Daddy gone and Mom refusing to take me in, I'm stuck with her for three more weeks. I'll be soooo glad when I turn 18... Until then, though, she's free to bite my head off for wrecking this thing." She held up the board.

"...you said it was a prototype?"

"Yeah; the company's been working on this anti-grav skateboard since spring, and I finally got the chance to test it out this morning. I dunno whether I should go back right away and face the music, or wait until nightfall--which was the original time I said I was coming back."

The wheels in Michelangelo's heads were turning fast. She's one of the coolest skaters in America. She doesn't mind seeing him as himself. And she's got something that Donny would flip over--and probably fix in a jippy. Plus, it's possible that she's Max Winter's kid--which makes her a decent girl to hang around with. And she really is a babe...

"I'm so sorry 'bout the pizza," Goldilocks was apologizing again, glancing around at the ruined pizza pies. "Like I said before, I got cash on me, so I can pay for it..."

Mikey slowly grinned. "Y'know...I got a bro back home who could fix that board in no time. He could even tell ya what exactly made it burn out."

"...really? Is he that smart?"

"He's a genius--the family inventor and Mr. Fix-It! He could create just about anything if you give him enough parts!"

The blonde thought about it for a moment. "Soooo...if I buy you replacement pizzas, you'll have your bro fix this thing?"

"Yeah--if you don't mind hanging around crazy freaks like me," He teased.

"Oh, you're no freak in my eyes!" She giggled. "In fact...you're kinda cute, actually."

"R-r-really?"

"Really, really!"

Mikey smirked. "Well, I am the baby of the family, and being the baby makes me super-cute!" He struck a pose, and it only made her laugh--which is what he wanted.

"Okay," she chortled. "So, we got a deal?"

"Heh-hah! Deal!"

"Good! I know a Papa John's around the corner--they got the best pizzas this side of Manhattan..."