In another universe…

"Booyakasha!" Mikey's loud exclamation caught the Kraang droid's attention. They turned, surprised, and stared at the fast-moving ninja turtle. He flipped in the air (Mikey always seemed to be doing that, despite the fact that it annoyed Donnie to no end) and smashed into a droid's shoulders. It crumbled under his weight. The Kraang brain inside of it screamed, crawling away quickly. Raph swatted it with his sai.

Donnie yelled, "Seriously, Mikey?" He spun his bo in his deft hands, hitting two droids.

"We don't have time for this." Leo cut off the heads of several Kraang with his katana. Despite their arguments, the fight was quickly ended and the Kraang lay in metal, sparking pieces on the ground.

"That's one way to work out frustration," Raph commented, absent-mindedly kicking a droid head across the black asphalt street.

"Yeah, you're good at not being frustrated." Donnie began rooting through the briefcases that the Kraang were transporting and didn't notice Raph's heated glare.

"What did you find, Donnie?" Leo observed his surroundings, making sure there were no other threats lurking in the darkness.

"Working on it."

"Work faster," Raph insisted, crossing his arms over his plastron.

Donnie sighed loudly, clenching his hands. "How can I work faster… when you won't stop bothering me!" Donnie had a habit of beginning a sentence in a perfectly calm tone and ending it screaming. Luckily, they weren't in a serious time crunch at the moment. Donnie had all the time he needed, but Raph's impatience still irked him.

Mikey randomly began muttering, while slinging his nunchaku in one hand, "Do you guys remember that song about the two cats and—"

"No." All three of his brothers answered firmly.

"But it had a hat with—"

Donnie quickly interrupted, "These look like the same devices that the Kraang use to move between dimensions, but on a much smaller scale. This could probably only transport one person from Dimension X to Earth."

"Why are there so many?" Leo focused on the briefcase. It contained at least five of the trans-dimensional devices. There are five other briefcases in addition to the one Donnie had already gone through.

"I don't know. These are different than the ones we've seen before. I don't know what this button right here is supposed to do." Donnie pointed to a fourth pentagonal button, also glowing a bright, radioactive pink color.

Mikey stuck his tongue out of the side of his mouth, thinking hard. Finally, he grinned and leaned forward, "So if I push it…"

"No!" Donnie grabbed Mikey's three-fingered hand only inches away from the mysterious device. Mikey whined. "I don't know what it's for! You can't just touch random things!"

"But it's so shiny…"

"Come on, Mikey." Leo grabbed his youngest brother's shoulder, pulling him away from a very irate Donnie. "We still have to finish our patrol tonight."

Donnie studied the devices for another couple of seconds before closing the briefcase. He could bring it back to the lab and try to figure out what to do with it there.

Tonight, they patrolled on foot. Usually they took the Shellraiser, but it was out of commission because Donnie was determined to upgrade and make it much more powerful. He hoped that they would be able to get real weapons for it one day.

Leo led the way, climbing a rickety fire escape to the top of a building. Donnie brought up the rear, still wondering about the Kraang. The aliens were always inventing new technology and bringing it to New York. Donnie wasn't sure if he'd be smart enough to figure out this part of their plan. Donnie was nineteen, like the rest of his brothers (with the exception of Mikey, who wouldn't turn nineteen for a few more months.) Donnie considered himself to be the most mature even if Leo was the leader. Still, he had no idea what the additional button on the trans-dimensional device did. For all Donnie knew, that wasn't even what the Kraang had been transporting.

They leaped from rooftop to rooftop, observing the roads beneath them. Mikey rode on his skateboard far in front of them, laughing loudly. Leo tried to get him to calm down and be stealthier, but Mikey was determined not to be ninja-like. Donnie puzzled through this new development in silence.

"Whoa!" Mikey suddenly yelled, jumping off his skateboard. His brothers caught up with him. They knelt in the darkness, totally unseen, and watched the scene unfold. Mikey had stopped when he'd seen a bright blue light erupt from the deserted street.

"What the shell is that?" Raph looked just as surprised as the others. Even Donnie had no clue what could be causing the light.

"Look over there!" They glanced down the street where Leo pointed. Tiger Claw rode on a motorcycle, speeding down the street along with Rahzar and Fishface. They came to a screeching halt a few yards away from the light.

Donnie pointed out, "That can't be a coincidence."

"Don't tell me there's another mutant we have to worry about." Raphael's groan was immediately hushed by Leo when the light grew brighter and rectangular-shaped. It was flat and two-dimensional, but a pale hand stretched out of one side. A girl dressed in all blue came tumbling out of the door and hit the concrete in an ungraceful heap. Donnie figured she hadn't meant to do that.

"What's this?" Tiger Claw's growling voice reached the turtle's ears. The girl stood, rubbing her bottom.

Raph asked, "What's she wearing?" Fishface voiced the same concern. He would have raised an eyebrow if he'd still had one.

"Ow…" She said, leaning on a scepter that was taller than her. Her outfit wasn't the weirdest part of the night.

Mikey whispered, "She has a cape!"

"Sh!"

Tiger Claw climbed off of his bike, cutting the engine. The roar ended instantly, leaving them in total silence. He moved towards the girl deliberately. "Who are you?" Tiger Claw took in her appearance and the staff. Was she a threat?

"Oh!" She scratched the top of her helmet as if embarrassed. "Where are my manners? I'm Renet, time sorceress. Nice to meet you, Tiger Claw." Renet gasped. "Oh, crap! I mean…"

"How do you know him?" Rahzar towered over the girl. His eyes glowed unnaturally. He could smell her fear. "What is a time sorceress?"

"Um… well, I can travel through time and move freely between universes. I was trained by Lord Simultaneous. Not that you know him, of course. That would be crazy. He doesn't interact with anyone, especially in this universe."

"Do you work with the Kraang?"

"What? No! I'm not an alien!" Renet was offended that they thought she was a Kraang droid. She had to overcome her fear and set Shredder's plan in motion. "Look, I came here to talk to your Shredder. I know you work for him."

Renet yelped in surprise when Tiger Claw seized her arm in one strong, hairy paw. He lifted her off the ground. Pain sizzled through her shoulder. Mikey jerked forward, reaching for his nunchaku. Leo held Mikey back before he ruined their hiding spot. They had to gather more information about Renet and her plans.

"Shredder doesn't have time to deal with some little girl." His breath was hot and gross. Renet tried not to gag as it washed across her face.

Renet brought up her scepter, pushing Tiger Claw in the chest. He was shoved back several steps; a shock went through his body. It was strong enough that he released her. Renet moved a few feet away from them. Fishface and Rahzar were looking at her angrily. "Lucky for you, I can manipulate time. Trust me, you want to hear what I have to say. And so will your Shredder."

Tiger Claw wasn't angry or even surprised. He stared at Renet, then smiled gruesomely. "Tell me one reason why I should trust you. If it's good enough, I'll take you to Shredder myself."

Act. Act. Act. Renet took a deep breath, studying these people who used to be her enemies. Now she had to pretend they were her potential allies. "I reside in an alternate universe most times. I work closely with the Shredder. He can help you destroy the teenage mutant ninja turtles."

Raph hissed angrily, "What?"

"But she was so cute…" Mikey whispered, giving Leo his puppy-dog eyes.

"An alternate Shredder?" Tiger Claw's talons extended from his paw. Renet gulped, but nodded. "How can he help us destroy the turtles?

You can do this. Renet straightened her shoulders and stared at him evenly. "Because Shredder killed the turtles once already in his universe."