Hello everybody!

So, this is my first crack at writing a turtles fic! My free time is somewhat limited, so I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update, but if I get a strong enough response, I will certainly try my best!

Enjoy! Oh, and I of course don't own the turtles.

Chapter 1 – Taken

"Mikey, slow down! This is supposed to be a group run!"

"If I went as slow as you guys, I'd be an old turtle by the time we got back to the lair!"

Leo could only shake his head and sigh to himself as he attempted to keep pace with his youngest brother. At the same time, however, he had two other brothers to watch, and so opted instead to hang back and keep them within his sights. At least, this is how he explained it to himself. Even he didn't like to admit that one of his brothers could get the best of him, but it was hard to ignore the speed and agility that came easily to his baby bro. He once again found his mind wandering to the possibility that Mikey could be an amazing ninja if he chose to devote even half of his current video game playing time to his studies. But, Mikey was Mikey, and Leo couldn't imagine his brother ever parting with his somewhat childish ways. In some respects, he was jealous of his brother's ability to maintain a positive outlook on life no matter what hardships came his family's way. He knew his light-hearted attitude was often misconstrued by their enemies as inexperience and stupidity – a mistake that often gave them the upper hand. Yes, Mikey was certainly a unique ninja, and he wouldn't want it any other way.

The sound of Mikey's laughter echoing back from up ahead snapped Leo back to his senses. Checking his surroundings, he could make out the facial expressions of the two brothers that had not broken out ahead of him during the training run. Raph, as usual, was wearing an angry scowl, most likely annoyed by the fact that Mikey was defeating him in any way. Clearly, his much bulkier muscles were slowing him down. Leo made a mental note to talk to his brother once again about the extra weight training he was putting in, but he doubted Raph would want to lose his advantage over Mikey in their constant wrestling matches.

On his other side he could make out his other brother, Donatello, whose attention was entirely focused on maintaining their current speed. There was no indication on his face that he had heard Mikey's banter, or, perhaps more likely, that he was at all bothered by it. Leo could always count on Donny to keep a cool head through any situation. He looked at him as his partner in level-headedness – the brother who could help temper Raph's anger and Mikey's ludicrousness, which often did not make for the best combination.

"What's the matter, Raph? Can't keep up with the Battle Nexus Champion?"

"Ooooh Mikey, when I catch you, I'm going to beat your shell into next week!"

"Then I guess I'm safe, cuz it doesn't look like your slow shell is ever going to catch me! It's a repeat of the Battle Nexus, all over again!"

"That's it! You are soooo dead!"

Leo thought about jumping in and cutting off the argument, but he found himself instead pleased to see Raph's speed finally increasing. While he didn't think anger towards his brother was the healthiest motivation, he was still content with the increasing effort Raph was giving to his run. He just hoped Mikey could actually keep up his speed until he calmed down, because with the color red that Raph's face was turning under his mask, Leo doubted that even he and Donnie together could keep their sai-weilding brother down.

Ever-alert, Leo noticed right away when Mikey stopped running ahead. Given the current state of Raph's anger, he immediately knew that something must be up. Increasing his speed, he noticed his brothers do the same as Mikey reached for his nunchuks on the roof ahead. Leaping onto the building, weapons drawn, the three remaining brothers took up stances around the youngest, who was currently staring down a foe at the other end of the roof. Looking up, Leo was granted by the face of none other than Karai, who was surrounded by a mere handful of elite foot ninja.

"So glad you guys could make it to the party! I was beginning to think I'd be stuck making conversation alone with these guys. It's always so awkward, really. I never know what to talk about –"

"Enough!" commanded Karai, finally stepping forward. "Please spare us the misfortune of listening to you speak any longer."

"Ha! I couldn't have said it better myself!" laughed Raph, smacking the back of Mikey's shell. In response, Mikey just crossed his arms. Whatever retort he had planned was cut-off by Leonardo, who stepped forward to meet Karai, one sword pointed out toward her.

"What do you want, Karai? It is not like you to just hang out on rooftops with such a small band of ninja."

"Yeah, I'd say the odds aren't exactly in your favor," added Raph, spinning his sai in preparation for a fight.

"We have a very specific agenda, Leonardo," answered Karai, directing her answer only to the oldest turtle. She let her eyes roam over the remaining brothers before landing on Leonardo once again. "In fact, I think it is time for us to make our exit."

As she finished speaking, a flying craft lowered from the clouds above their heads, surprising the brother's with its entrance as it didn't make a sound.

"What the heck is that?" yelled Raph, momentarily distracted by the appearance of the craft.

"It must be some kind of alien technology, because I don't even hear an engine" responded Donnie, equally entranced by the flying object. Both brothers, however, immediately returned their attention to Karai when she spoke again.

"Elite ninja! You know our objective!" she yelled while reaching into her sleeve. In the next moment, a number of smoke pellets were thrown to the grown, shrouding all present in a familiar white smoke. Caught off guard, the turtle brothers couldn't help but collapse into coughing fits until the smoke had dissipated. When their visibility returned, Karai and the elite ninja were gone, along with the aircraft.

"What the shell was that?" Raph wheezed out, eyes still tearing from the smoke.

"We are definitely missing something here," added Donnie, also still choking on the smoke as he recovered from the attack.

Leo listened to his brothers as he cleared the remaining smoke from his lungs, looking around in an effort to discern Karai's purpose in meeting them on the rooftop. As he completed a scan of the surrounding area, his heart seized up as he realized what was amiss.

"Where's Mikey?"