The rooftops never felt the same each night the turtles escaped to their midnight runs. It was like a new adventure, and their patrols were usually never boring. Nights like these were appreciated. The moon full, the skies clear, and of course, the empty roofs of New York City.
"Is that mutagen?"
"Mutagen isn't red, Mikey."
Around the rooftop corner of an apartment building, the four masked brothers perched on the ledge and peered into the alley way below with growing curiosity. It was pretty much shadow-bathed, except for the faint glow of the chemicals in the hands of the Kraang. The canisters that held them were a different shape, too. They were cylinder-like, with simple circular covers on each end. They were unmarked. The Kraang moved towards a truck at the end of the alley, stacking the canisters on top of each other with the gentlest of movements. Donnie was first to move, getting down onto one of the fire escapes with absolute silence.
"Then what is it?" Leo asked, landing beside his younger brother with wide, curious eyes.
Don leaned over. "I have no idea," he admitted, "There are no markings on the canister."
"I don't know why you guys feel the need to know." The two turned their heads to find Raph and Mikey now beside them, crouching with controlled weight. "It's obviously something bad, right? Then let's get in there and take care of it!"
"No." Leo ordered calmly. "Not yet."
Raph bit back a complaint as he watched the Kraang below continue their line. They were leaving the storage warehouse below in doubles, each group holding a separate canister of this glowing red ooze. The truck was halfway full already. Once the canister was neatly placed in the wall of red ooze in the trunk, the Kraang returned to the warehouse to retrieve more.
"What if we got down there and made them tell us?" Raph suggested.
"You know they won't." Leo pointed out absent-mindedly.
"What if it's the opposite of mutagen? Stuff that turns things back to normal?"
All three brothers turned to look at Mikey with the widest of eyes. The youngest frowned and shrunk back, dejected as if he were wrong. "What?"
"No, that's actually a good theory." Donnie went into concentration, putting a hand to his chin and staring at the mutagen below.
Mikey leaned forward. "Really?" His face became excited, proud of himself for thinking of something smart.
"Or it's just something that'll combust once it hits oxygen." Don muttered to himself, one eye raised as options ran through his mind. Mikey sat back down on the fire escape with a small huff.
"Fine. We get in there, kick their butts, and be careful with the chemical. I get that. So why are we still sitting here?" Raph drew a sai, twirling it in his hand as it whirred through the air.
Leo held a hand up to keep him still. He stared at the line of Kraang coming from the building, trying to think things through. "How many of them do you think there are?"
Donnie shrugged. "I can't tell. Sometimes I wish they didn't all look the same."
"Alright, I'll call it. Let's go. Remember, be careful with the chemical." Leo reminded the group as he got to his feet, his swords already unsheathed and in his hands.
Raph would've been annoyed at the fact that Leo thought they needed reminding, but instead, his expression became excited as he was finally able to do something. All at once in a swift motion, the four of them were on the ground, weapons drawn at ready. Leaping straight into battle, the Kraang were unaware of being attacked until four of them were down. The soft, pink aliens inside the bodies let out screeches as they turned and crawled away.
The Kraang didn't seem to know what to do, for their hands were full with the red ooze. A few of the ones with free hands picked up their blasters, opening fire from inside the storage warehouse. The shadows became ablaze with purple.
Leo's swords slashed through the metal body of two of the Kraang, their arms dropping the canister. Quickly lunging forward, he grasped it in his arms and fell into a controlled tumble. Once he was on his feet again, he turned back to make sure his brothers were catching the canisters as they fell. Raph's sais dug into the Kraang's head, and his feet drove the robot backwards. The canister flew from its arms, flying across the alley way into Donnie's hands. "Watch it, Raph!" He yelled, setting the canister aside neatly and returning to the fight.
Another Kraang fell across the alley as Mikey's nun-chuck smacked into the robot. With a small second of pride, he held his head high with a giant grin. Remembering the canister that was in mid-fall, his expression dropped and he dove forward, catching it before it hit the ground. He let out a sigh of relief, rolling the canister aside and back-flipping towards his next opponent.
More laser fire erupted, causing the turtles to scatter. Leo found himself at one end of the alley, flying through the air towards a Kraang with his gun at ready. A purple streak swam towards him, and he swung his swords forward to deflect it. His feet slammed against the robot's chest, and the robot flew backwards. Picking up the gun, he turned around and aimed at a few of the other Kraang holding guns. He opened fire, watching as Kraang began to fall around him.
They seemed to just keep coming. This was getting ridiculous. "Keep it up guys!" Leo called, drawing his swords once again and returning to the fun.
Mikey swept his legs under one of the Kraang, knocking it off its feet and letting it drop to the ground. The other, which had the other end of the canister, looked up in alarm as Mikey's foot slammed into its head. Holding his arms out, he let the canister sink into his hold with a look of satisfaction. He raised his head, finding a Kraang with a canister in his hands as he fled towards the truck. "Oh no you don't!" Mikey yelled, running after him.
The Kraang looked behind him, but his pace didn't change. He headed towards the driver's seat of the car, the canister in his hands held tightly in his grip. Mikey lunged forward, tackling the Kraang with heavy force. The canister slipped from the robot's grasp, and it spun uncontrollably towards the wall of the alley way. The lidded end bashed against the wall, then spun back towards Mikey. Already consumed in his fight with the Kraang in his grasp, he didn't look up.
The glass side of the canister made contact with Mikey's head, and it broke into a million pieces on the spot. He let out a cry of pain as glass embedded into his skin, and red ooze erupted around him. The chunks of liquid poured over him.
"Mikey!" Donnie's voice from across the alleyway drew the attention of his other two brothers. They were all running towards him.
But he wasn't finished. He wrapped his arm around the Kraang's neck and wacked his head with his nun-chuck as hard as he could. The Kraang, attempting to get up, was pushed to the ground by Mikey's force. He spun, landing a strong kick to the robot alien in its body as it tried to escape. The robot stopped flailing.
Mikey stood, his face full of determination. He turned around and found his brothers running towards him. "Mikey, you okay?" Donnie reached out a hand, though he did not touch him.
Mikey looked down at himself. He was covered in glass and red ooze. The glass stung him, and his eyes were tear-filled with pain. But the red ooze didn't make itself noticeable. Instead, it merely dripped around him, making a little puddle at his feet.
"I'm fine." Mikey snapped, crossing his arms and walking towards the fire escape. He ignored the pain in his head from the glass. Suddenly, he realized some of the red liquid on his skin was actually blood. Ouch. "Are we done here?"
His brothers spun around to watch him leave, their eyes raised with confused glances. Mikey noticed, but said nothing. "Are we done?" He asked again, a tone of frustration added to the end.
"Uh, yeah. That's all of them, I think." Donnie mumbled, watching Mikey closely.
"Then let's go." Mikey said impatiently, taking hold of the fire escape ladder and beginning his ascent, while his three older brothers watched him every step of the way.