Michelangelo and Donatello enter the garage through a window without making a sound, they sneak around and find Aprils car.
"Where did they go?" Donatello wonders.
"Hey, wouldn't it be weird if we took a peek in the back seat and, you know, they were at it?"
"That's just gross, Mikey" Donatello says. "Gross and inappropriate, not to mention immature."
"What? Because you're so mature and responsible? Mister Dungeons and Dragons playing arcades all night long."
"You play arcades all night long" Donatello points out.
"Yeah, but that's totally different, bro'. I'm not a nerd."
"Hey, I think I found something" Donatello says. "A backdoor."
"Dungeons and Dragons, dude. That's all I'm saying" Michelangelo says and follows Donatello.
They sneak out into a backyard full of debris and junk.
"You know, Donnie" Michelangelo says. "This sure is a good place for an ambush. If I was gonna set up an ambush, I would do it right here."
"Shh! They'll hear you" Donatello says. "Be quiet."
"Drop your weapons, scumbags!" Casey Jones calls out as he and April jump out of hiding, ready with bats and sticks.
Michelangelo turns to Donatello. "Told ya."
Casey and April can't believe their eyes.
"Run, April!" Casey says, terrified. "Get the hell out of here!"
April flees and Casey gets ready to fight the turtles.
"Calm down" Donatello says. "We're here to help. We are not your enemies."
"We are the enemies of your enemies" Michelangelo cuts in. "So basically, we're all enemies."
"Don't listen to him" Donatello says. "We are your friends."
"What the hell are you?" Casey asks.
At that point, Leonardo and Raphael lands on either side of Casey and disarms him.
"We're turtles!" Raphael growls. "I thought that much was obvious. We look like cats to you?!"
Leonardo steps in. "Everyone, calm down. Where did the reporter go?"
"She ran off" Donatello says and points.
Leonardo grabs Casey by the collar. "We don't want to hurt you, but we need to find your reporter-friend, before the Foot Clan can get to her. So where is she going?"
"As far away from you freaks as she possibly can" Casey says defiantly.
"You gotta hand it to him" Michelangelo says to the others, "He's got some balls. Or pucks. I suppose pucks is more appropriate."
"You will never find her" Casey says. "She knows every street-corner in New York. She has friends in all the boroughs. She knows how to disappear in this town for weeks. She has connections on both sides of the Hudson and is most likely already off the grid. Gone without a trace. You wanna find her? My advice is for you guys to sit down and wait for her to resurface, because the only way you can find her is if she wants to be found."
At that point, April comes running back. "Casey! Help!"
Foot Ninjas lasso April and hoist her into the air, and up on the rooftops. Leonardo spots Karai ( now wearing full mask and ninja outfit ) and she follows her fellow ninjas.
"Come On!" Leonardo says and heads after Karai and April.
"Finally!" Raphael growls. "Let's bust some heads!" And with that, Raphael follows Leonardo.
Donatello heads after the others, leaving Michelangelo and Casey behind. Michelangelo and Casey watch each other for a brief moment.
"Rangers or Islanders?" Michelangelo eventually asks.
"Rangers" Casey says.
"Put it there, pal" Michelangelo says and holds up his hand and they high-five. Michelangelo then heads after the others. "Come on, bro'! What are you waiting for!"
Casey watches Michelangelo climbing the building. "You gotta love New York" he says and heads after. "Hey, wait! I got an idea!"
Karai, the ninjas and April, zipline down from the roof, land on a parking-lot and jumps into a larger van and drives off. The turtles lands on the street, having jumped down from the building, just as the van heads out.
Raphael punches a dumpster. "Damn it! I can't believe we were that close!"
"There's got to be another way?" Donatello says.
"It's daytime" Leonardo says. "Too great a risk going after them now."
"But" Donatello is saddened, "then she'll die."
At that point, a rusty old green van hits the breaks right next to them and the side-door is pulled open, allowing Michelangelo to stick his head out.
"Look what I found!" Michelangelo says with great pride. "A lean, mean, green turtle machine. Hop on in, guys."
The others climb inside and discover Casey Jones behind the wheel.
"Hang on back there" Casey says and heads on out at high speeds.
"Told ya we needed a van!" Michelangelo says with a wide smile.
"Where the hell did you learn to drive?!" Raphael growls.
"Ease down, Raph" Michelangelo says. "The way I figure it is, since we can't drive, we shut up. Or else we'll never save that news-lady."
"Mikey's right" Leonardo says and climbs up to Casey. "Can this rust-bucket catch up to them?"
Casey Jones grins. "In the words of Han Solo; I know a few maneuvers."
The van cuts through traffic rather violently.
Donatello turns to Michelangelo. "He's quoting Star Wars."
Michelangelo grins. "I know, awesome, right?! If I was leaning that way, I would so make him my boyfriend."
"There!" Raphael says and points, pointing out the van they are chasing. "There they are!"
Leonardo nods. "Get ready."
In the other van, April is secured with ropes and a gag. Karai looks out the rear window and spots the green van coming after them at reckless speed. April takes the opportunity to kick a ninja in the gut, but Karai is quick to subdue her.
"Don't even try it!" Karai snarls.
The green van is gaining on the Foot Clan van.
"We're gaining on 'em!" Casey says.
"Awesome!" Michelangelo says and he and Donatello high-five.
"Great job" Leonardo says. "Get up beside them."
"You got it, boss" Casey says and steps on it.
Leonardo turns around to the others. "Raph! You're up!"
The green van gets up alongside the black one and the turtles opens their side-door. In the other van, a turtle is thrown in through the side-window, no arms or legs or head visible. Head and limbs then pop out and strike the Foot Clan ninjas; it is Raphael. He quickly grabs April and hands her over to Leonardo and Donatello who grab her and pull her into their van. April screams out of fear as she sees the turtles.
Michelangelo sighs. "Aw come on, lady! This is the second time we save ya! Show some gratitude."
"It's alright, April" Casey says and looks back at her. "They're the good-guys!"
April has a hard time understanding what is going on.
Raphael is about to climb back to the other van when Karai slices his leg with her sword; the pain has Raphael fall back into the Foot Clan van again where he is forced to fight the ninjas, and Karai of course.
"Raph!" Leonardo calls out and is about to jump after him.
"Hang on!" Casey shouts and dodges a large truck, which makes it impossible for Leonardo to go after Raphael.
Raphael manages to kick two ninjas out the back of the van, now only left with three ninjas plus Karai ( and one driver of course ). Casey ends up behind the ninja-van and they can see the fight inside since both rear-doors are open.
"Stay behind them" Leonardo says. "We can't risk anyone seeing Raph."
"So how are we gonna help him?" Casey wonders.
"Good question" Leonardo says.
Michelangelo looks out the rear window. "Never mind that" he says. "We got Five-Oh hot on our tail!"
A police-car is in pursuit with lights flashing and sirens howling. April moves on up to Casey.
"Move over!" she says. "I'm the better driver, so get out of the way!"
"Are you serious?!" Casey wonders.
"Move!" April argues.
In the ninja-van, the fight continues. Raphael is having trouble, but manages to kick Karai out of the van. She lands on the front of the green van and sticks her sword in the hood to prevent her from falling off. Karai spots the turtles inside the other van and she and Leonardo eye each other. The ninja-van makes a sudden turn and enters a parking-building, throwing Raphael and the other ninjas around. April, now driving, follows as best she can, as does the police-car. The chase continues up a spiraling ramp with exits at each level/floor. Raphael managed to throw out another ninja, leaving only two left to fight him.
Karai punches the window and brakes it and then instantly throws in a fire-bomb that ignites inside the green van, causing Casey, Michelangelo and Donatello to slightly panic. Leonardo tries to stab Karai through the hole she made in the window, but she dodges each attack, holding on to her sword that is secured through the hood of the van.
The ninja-van enters a level and is followed by the green van and the police-car as the chase continues among the parked cars.
Leonardo turns around. "Donnie! Ditch the cops!"
"Hold on to this" Donatello tells Michelangelo and holds out his staff.
Donatello leans out of the van, through the open side-door, holding on to his staff with one arm while Michelangelo is holding on to the other end. Donatello, with one throw, throws two shuriken that hits the police-cars front-wheel, causing it to explode and the police-car loses control and crashes. Michelangelo pulls Donatello back into the van.
"I sure hope they wore their seat-belts" Michelangelo comments.
Leonardo pushes them to the side. "Out of the way!" he growls and climbs outside.
Karai retrieves a tonfa from her back and uses it to parry Leonardo's strikes; Leonardo is on the side of the van, attacking with one of his swords, forcing Karai to parry strike after strike.
April is watching everything up close from the drivers seat. "I can't believe this shit."
In the black van, Raphael gets a hard kick to the chest, sending him crashing into the closed side-door; the door, with Raphael on top of it, brakes free from the van and slides off with Raphael holding onto it.
Karai manage to land a kick to Leonardo's head, sending him flying into the parked cars, smashing them with his shell. April hits the brakes which sends Karai, with her sword, flying; she lands, rolls and ends up on her feet in a kneeling position. April backs up to Leonardo and Donatello and Michelangelo help Leonardo into the van. Karai runs on over and jumps into the black van that heads for the spiraling downward ramp. Raphael sees this.
"You're not getting away this time" Raphael says.
He picks up the side-door, runs with it and jumps up on it and surfs on it on the way down in his pursuit of the black van. Meanwhile, April heads on after as well, with Leonardo safely in the green van. Raphael throws shuriken at Karai and the other Foot Clan ninjas, forcing them to duck and dodge inside of the black van. Karai throws another fire-bomb and as it detonates, it forces Raphael to fall off the door and he hits the ground hard and rolls down the spiraling ramp. The black van leaves the parking-building and heads off. Inside, the green van catches up to Raphael who is slowly getting back on his feet.
"Come on, Raph!" Donatello tells him. "It's time to get out of here!"
Raphael climbs into the van and they leave at high speed, with multiple police-cars closing in the distance.
"Where to guys?" April asks. "We got cops all over the place."
Michelangelo grabs her by the shoulder. "The sewers, darling. The sewers."
"Sewers?" Casey asks a bit hesitantly.
XXX XXX
Donatello and Michelangelo carry Raphael while April supports Leonardo as they enter the turtles secret sewer-hideout. Casey Jones is holding a hockey-stick in hand and keeps watch over their backs.
"Man, what a terrific smell you guys have discovered down here" Casey says. "Smells like a moldy turd set on fire."
Raphael is placed on the couch and Leonardo in a chair.
"I'll get the first-aid kit" Donatello says and runs off.
"You do that" Michelangelo says. "I'll get the pizza."
April looks around, somewhat amazed. "You guys live down here?"
"Yeah" Leonardo nods. "Its this or being dissected in a government lab somewhere."
April nods. "I can see why you would prefer this."
"I'm not convinced they made the right choice" Casey says as he looks around.
Donatello runs up to Raphael and starts applying first-aid. Michelangelo shows up as well with a pizza, slice in hand.
"Hey" Michelangelo says, "it might not be the Ritz, but we got free cable, pay no rent and we don't have to worry about pushy insurance-salesmen knocking on the door. Now who in New York would turn that down?"
April is in awe. "Amazing."
"What is this?!" Splinter is heard saying.
Casey Jones is ready to fight. "Whatta hell is that?!"
"Sensei" Leonardo says and gets out of the chair and falls to a knee out of respect. "Forgive us, but the police were chasing us. We had no other choice but to hide down here. The Foot Clan made their move against the reporter, just as you predicted. We thought this would be the safest place to hide."
Splinter, using a cane to support him, walks into the room. "Let us hope it was the correct decision" he says. "Please, sit. Rest" he tells April and Casey. "My sons will provide you with food and drink." Splinter turns to Michelangelo and gives him a nod.
"Sure thing, dude" Michelangelo says and goes to fetch food and drinks. "This is so cool."
As April and Casey sit down in another couch, Splinter limps on over to a chair and sits down to rest. He watches as Donatello helps Raphael.
"How is Raphael?" Splinter asks.
"He'll be alright" Donatello says. "A couple of stiches, some bruises, but he'll be ok."
"It's nothing, sensei" Raphael says, clearly in pain. "I've been through worse."
April swallows and asks. "Where do you come from? How did you get here?"
Michelangelo enters and provides Casey and April with pizza and sodas. "I thought it was obvious. We're aliens, dude."
"You're shitting me, right?" Casey says. "You got a spaceship?"
"Off course we're not aliens" Donatello says. "You think we would live down here if we were from outer space?"
Splinter is next to speak. "Many years ago, I came here from Japan. For years I ran a small dojo. But one night, fifteen years ago, as I returned home ( a flashback sequence begins, starting with Splinter as a human in his fifties, relying on a cane as he walks, walking up to his buildings door; further down two police-cars have lights flashing and the cops are arresting a person. We hear the cops say "Baxter Stockman, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law ) I found a window broken, along with my terrarium and the pot that had held a Chinese flower. A gift from a special friend in Japan. On the floor, I found a canister, it was broken and a green ooze had leaked from it. Somehow, it had flown through my window. My flower was in the ooze, but so were my four turtles. They were covered in it, and writhing in pain. There was a rat standing in the ooze, sniffing at my pets. I could not let it bite them, so I hurried over and grabbed it. It bit me, but I snapped its neck and threw it to the side. I picked up the turtles, my bleeding hands was covered in the ooze, but I did not care; my pets were in so much pain. I hurried to put them in the bathtub where I washed them clean. But then, I got dizzy, the world spun around and I fainted. Then followed hours, maybe even days, of severe pain. By body felt as if it was on fire at its very core. Eventually, after how long I do not know, I found the strength to get back on my feet. And I found a mirror… and saw what I had become. I had little time to reflect, as I heard noises from my apartment. I left the bathroom, and to my great surprise, I found four humanoid turtles. They appeared to be ages two or three; young children playing. As you can imagine, the next days and following months were strange to say the least. In the end, we could no longer hide in my apartment and we were forced into hiding in the sewers, away from people and the risk of being seen ( Splinter flees with the turtles out the window, just as the landlord enters the apartment and says "I'm sorry, mister Yoshi, but you are two months behind on your rent" ). It was here that I found meaning in life, and learned to deal with our situation, by raising the turtles as my sons and teaching them the secret arts of the ninja." ( in the sewers, Splinter performs martial-arts moves and the four turtles mimic his movements )
"Incredible" April says.
"I am Leonardo" Leonardo says. "And these are my brothers. Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael."
"So basically, what you're saying is" Casey Jones says, "is that you are teenage, mutant, ninja turtles?"
"Well, when you put it like that it just sounds retarded" Michelangelo says. "But yeah. That's basically it."
April looks at her new fantastic friends. "So why are you fighting the other ninjas?"
Splinter answers. "When we saw your report on the news, about professor Chaplin, I could not help but feel as if the poor professor had been assassinated by a ninja. Donatello figured out that a ship from Japan had arrived the day before the murder and was about to leave the night after. I sent my sons to investigate, suspecting the ninja would try and leave using this ship."
"Told you, didn't I" Casey says, giving April a nudge.
"That's when we ran into you guys the first time" Leonardo says. "When the Foot Clan attacked you at the docks."
"The Foot Clan?" April asks.
"The enemy" Splinter says. "They now know that you have discovered them, miss O'Neil, and they will not stop trying to silence you. You are not safe. You need my sons to protect you."
"I'm not used to hiding" April says. "I've done stories on the mob, on corrupt politicians. I wont let some ninja-thugs scare me. If I can prove who hired them to kill Chaplin, the authorities can go after them. If I can get Baxter Stockman to admit that he used TCRI to have Chaplin killed, then I can go after the Foot Clan and bring them down."
"A very dangerous mission, miss O'Neil" Splinter says.
"Danger is what I do" April replies.
Michelangelo looks at Donatello. "Dude… I'm in love."
Leonardo walks over to April. "We'll do what we can to help you."
April smiles. "Thanks."
"Swell" Casey says. "Now all we have to do is break into the TCRI building and kidnap one of their most high-profile employees. No sweat."
XXX XXX
In an abandoned warehouse, Karai and eight Foot Clan ninjas are kneeling with heads lowered. Out of the shadows, twelve other ninjas emerge and within moments, Shredder steps out of the shadows and walks on over to Karai.
"Rise, my daughter" Shredder says in Japanese.
Karai gets up on her feet. "Father" she says in Japanese, "the Yōkai interfered again. We tried to capture the reporter, to interrogate her so we could find out how she had linked our employer to us. But the reporter was rescued by the Yōkai. Turtles skilled in the arts of the ninja. Trained in the ways of the Foot Clan."
"Turtles?" Shredder says, as if trying out the word. Then he lashes out and strikes Karai to the ground. "Nothing but a disguise! Yoshihama Takeshi is behind this! He must be!" Shredder turns to address all the ninjas. "Find them! Whatever they are! Go!"
All the ninjas vanish into the shadows. Shredder turns to Karai.
"You will not fail me again, Karai" Shredder says. "I have come here in person to New York to kill Yoshihama Takeshi. You will not fail me."
"I will not dishonor you, father" Karai says. "Not again."
"Go" Shredder says. "Find them."
Karai leaves and Shredder is on his own. Shredder steps out onto the roof of the building and looks out over the giant city, listening to all the sounds and watching all the lights.
"You were a fool to come out of hiding, Takeshi" Shredder says. "You should have stayed hidden. Now, I will finish what we both started so long ago."