Author's Note: This is my First Fanfiction. I've had this idea in my head for quite some time now, but never gotten around to actually writing it until today. It should end up being something rather complex, with lots of plot twists. I'll also try to keep my own characters to a minimum, hopefully no more than three. And I do like to play with the TMNT characters a little bit, so they might be just a little different than the official forms. Nothing drastic, more of a warning than anything.

TMNT are not owned by me. All of them are copyrighted to Mirage Studios. Any non-TMNT characters are copyrighted to me. So don't start using them! :D

A few words about my story: It takes place mostly in the animated universe of TMNT 2003, right after Exodus. However, I have my own little twists.

First, Shredder is a human. Plain and simple.

Second, Leonardo is in his angst-y mode from the beginning of Season 4, simply because I find it more fun for him to be like that.

Lastly, I love comments! Please, if you read this, just write a short review. Something as simple as "THIS IS THE WORST STORY EVER" is fine by me. At least I got you to read it. :D

Without further ado, here we go…

Make a Move

Saki Estate, Floor 4

Air Vent

It's amazing how narrow air vents really are, thought the assassin as he crawled through them. He scraped his sword for the fourth time against the metal shell, and groaned as another loud noise escaped through the hallway. Best assassin ever. He shook his head.

Any other day these mistakes would have been fatal to the operation, but this one seemed quite different. Below him was complete chaos. People dressed in black ninja attire with their faces hid behind a mask hurried along, their steps a stampede. For ninja, they sure weren't exactly secretive. What was so important that they needed to move?

This worried the assassin, because this building generally didn't have anything like ninjas running around. It was the home of Oroku Saki, a Japanese man who worked hard to make New York City a better place for all. He donated a lot of money to the city over the past year, especially when the civil war broke out, and was very involved in public affairs. Also, he was the man this assassin was hired to kill.



The assassin glanced through another opening in the vent, and saw a dark room with a half-open closet. The power had recently gone out, and the whole building, including this room, was bathed in a sea of navy blue and black. Inside the closet was some of the ninja attire he had seen the others using. Checking around to ensure no one was watching, he popped open the vent, and carefully hopped down to the ground, silent as can be.

The clothes were a little too small for the assassin, and his swords would never be able to be hidden, but thankfully, the clothes had a sheath for the sword to fit into. The sword was too long, so it hung out at the top, but it would have to do. Pulling the mask on, he noticed for the first time the symbol on his chest. It looked like a three-toed foot. "Looks like a chicken foot" He muttered to himself, "Din has now been reduced to wearing chicken legs."

He ran out of the room, and saw another ninja, who seemed to be straggling behind. Following behind him, and hoping this guy knew where he was going, Din asked, "What's happening?"

The ninja didn't turn his head, just ran down a flight of stairs. "The turtles just attacked, and Oroku Saki is dead! We're trying to get out of here before the police show up!"

Din's eyes widened behind his mask. Saki? Dead? His target was dead? And he didn't do it? Could he still collect the money?

"The police are coming?" He asked, trying his best to match the ninja's accent.

The ninja nodded furiously. "Yes! Someone must have called the police after the deed, maybe they heard a noise, but many are already parked outside!" With that, he dashed off down some dark highway.

Din just stood there, his jaw hanging open (he was thankful he wore a mask). Saki was dead. This meant he didn't get paid, because if he had done the killing there would be no trace. But now, the police were on their way, and he needed to make himself scarce as well. Didn't want to be asked why he was carrying a large sword.

He ran down a random hallway, one that seemed to have stairs in it. All he needed was a way out after all. The stairs were bathed in the blue light, and sirens were heard coming from the open window. He looked ahead; there was a window right at the foot of the stairs. And outside the window was a rooftop. Could he make that?

Din will never know if he could make such a jump, because at that moment he stumbled. He had forgotten to tie the shoe laces! Right at the foot of the window he stepped on a lace, and fell forward. He prayed the window was bulletproof.

Nope.

It held him for maybe a fraction of a second, then shattered. The ground loomed four stories below him. Solid cement, just the thing he liked to land on.



He fell straight down, tumbling through the air. But wait? Was that a manhole? One without a cover? Oh great, they'll find his corpse in the sewers.

The hole was there, like a mouth eager to swallow him up, and his head fell through. His midsection landed on the side, right on his crotch. Slowly the legs slid and he fell, About fifteen feet later, he was lying in water, face down. "Oh….god…"

Below New York

Sewer Tunnel 5F

Din must have passed out, because he woke up sometime later and saw the moon wasn't where it was beforehand. He must've been out almost twenty-four hours. Groaning, he rolled over, and felt how wet he was. Did he wet the bed…?

A rat scurried by, and sniffed Din's nose. This didn't alarm him, as his apartment had rats in it. He batted it away, a sudden burst of pain flew through his arm. That was also when he realized he was wearing a mask. Oh right, he fell.

He tried to stand. Thankfully, everything seemed to work. Sore, but still functional. What happened last night? His thoughts were a mess, and he needed to order them.

Target: Oroku Saki

Mission: Kill him

Reward: Money, lots of it

And he had failed. Apparently Saki was already dead. Wonderful.

Glancing at his watch, he sighed. He had to work in about four hours. Better get moving. He heard some sirens in the background, and had to move away from his current location. Once again, he didn't want to explain himself.

He stumbled through the sewers, the water feeling heavy and warm against his feet. His shoes would never dry now. He didn't know where he was, but he just had to move away from the police and try to get somewhere close to his house. Then he could climb up, get to his apartment, change, and be on his way.

He was a great assassin, known to be stealthy and quick in all of his assassinations. His name, Din, was feared. His prices were not cheap, but if you could pay, you knew he would be able to get the job done.

Until now.



Well, in a way Saki had been killed. Just not by Din. Should he play it like he killed Saki? No, his employer specifically wanted this to be a quiet killing. And having Din himself running from the police did not exactly qualify as quiet.

He sighed. Looks like he wouldn't get a lot of money this week. He was hoping to finally be able to afford a house of his own, but that wasn't happening any time soon.

Creak. Din's ears perked, but he made no sign of recognition. He was better than that. This was the second time he was thankful for a mask, as he could scan the area without his darting eyes giving him away.

Nothing seemed to be around. Maybe it was just a rat. Yeah, that was probably it. There were rumors about other things down here, but they were just rumors. Nothing more.

"Stop."

Din froze. Who had said that? Then, he noticed the shining silver blade in front of his neck. Oh.

"Don't move. Just speak." The voice came from right behind him, he could feel breath on his neck. Din was stuck. If he tried to attack, his neck would be slit.

"Why are you here?"

Be honest. "I'm on my way back home, to my apartment."

"Where is this apartment?" The voice continued, an edge in the voice.

"122 Eastman Ave." Honestly was the best policy.

Silence. "What is the foot doing down here?" The voice said after a few seconds.

"Foot?"

"Don't play dumb." The sword inched closer, Din could feel the cool metal on his throat. "You."

The clothes! His mind raced. "Oh, these aren't my-"

"Don't lie to me!" The voice commanded. "Tell me why you're down here."

"I already told you." Din kept his voice cool. Couldn't show fear. Confusion, but not fear. "I'm trying to get back to my apartment. These aren't my clothes."

There had been constant drip-drip of water not far from where Din was standing, and then he heard a slipping sound, followed by a thud. "Owwww…" grumbled a new voice.

The one behind Din groaned. "Geez, can't you do anything right?!" Din cringed, that was harsh.

A few seconds later, "I'm sorry, there was a leaky pipe, and-"



"Never mind!" The voice had an angrier edge now, one that sent a sliver of fear through Din's body. This one was dangerous.

"Can I go now?" Din groaned, as the sword quivered. The assassin could see the hand of the holder…it was green.

"No!" Din felt more warm air on his neck. "What is your name?"

Without thinking, "Din."

"Remove your mask."

"What?"

"Take it off."

Din nodded slowly, and reached up carefully with one hand. The mask was pulled off, and his brown hair was in a rumpled mess. "These clothes are too small for me too…" He muttered, and dropped the mask.

"Ooooh! He's not even Japanese!"

"Quiet Mikey!"

"But the Foot only hire Japanese-"

"I said quiet!"

Din grumbled. No, he wasn't Japanese. 100 pure born American. His parents were just out there and gave him a really crappy name.

"Er, no. I'm not with this 'Foot.' I am an independent. I act out of my own free will."

"But why the clothes?!" The one behind Din was growing more impatient.

A lie was needed. He only knew these Foot had numbers. Maybe that was enough. "I was attacked by them a day ago. I managed to fight back, I took many martial arts courses, and well, I took one out, and grabbed his clothes. My other clothes were ruined in the hustle. I had no idea they had such a name for them." Good one Din. A very believable lie.

Behind Din, the lie didn't go over so well. "Right," said sarcastically. Then a yawn. Maybe they thought they wouldn't get anywhere with this one. "Just leave. Don't speak about this to anyone, understand?"

Din nodded, and the grip was held. "Do not look behind you. Just walk forward." Then he was let go. He did as he was told, deciding that obedience was the better choice here. He moved forward, found a ladder, and climbed up it. No glancing back.