Disclaimer: This chapter in particular, along with a handful of other chapters, will borrow events from the 2003 cartoon series. The borrowed events belong to the series and are the genius work of the show's creators. The different circumstances in this story necessitate the retelling of certain events with a slight twist. As always, I don't own the ninja turtles or associated characters. They are the property of Mirage Studios. I make no money from this and I mean no harm.


Chapter 4

Leonardo raced across the rooftops of New York hidden by the still dark skies of the early morning. He was furious with recent events and he found running very relaxing. The skies threatened ugly weather, and Leo almost hoped that they would open up on him. He liked the rain, it made hopping rooftops more difficult and dangerous, but he loved the feel of rain on his skin, especially when he was running. The dark clouds also offered cover for his run, keeping the bright sun that would expose him to the world at bay a little longer and letting his run continue.

He knew they were there and had known for quite some time now. Considering the family, one member in particular, Leo and his brothers were quite skilled at sensing the presence of others. Even for ninja, their skills were exceptional in that respect. The group tailing him had been getting closer for the past couple of rooftops, and were now right behind him. A single Foot ninja jumped, intending to skewer Leonardo with his katana, but Leo had recognized the move before his adversary could complete his goal. Ducking, Leo allowed the other ninja to pass harmlessly over his head, harmless to Leo at any rate. The Foot ninja collided with a wall and was knocked out cold. Once sure his first opponent was down, Leo turned his attention to the rest of the group that had been chasing him. Another group of Foot appeared on a higher level. Surrounded, Leo looked for a means of escape. He needed to get away from these guys and back to April's place without being followed. If he was going to accomplish this goal then he would need to call upon every ounce of training he had ever received, and he knew it. Leo just hoped that it would be enough.

Looking around, he spotted a cable that might be of use. Jumping and slicing the cable free, Leo swung across the roofs of the city. He had hoped to elude his pursuers, but where there was one Foot ninja there were always more. His escape was short lived and, once again, Leonardo found himself surrounded. This time he would have to fight. And fight he did, quickly rendering his enemies unconscious, only to be surrounded by more. Even as Leo scanned the rooftops, quickly losing count of how many Foot were actually nearby, the storm that the skies had threatened all morning arrived, and it arrived with a vengeance. Lightning streaked across the skies, briefly illuminating the black shadows that surrounded the lone turtle. Leo growled to himself. This was going to be difficult – difficult, but doable.

The Foot tech ninja were the next to arrive on the scene. After having battled his way through so many regular Foot ninja, Leo was already at a disadvantage. When the foes around him vanished, he had nothing to aid him either. In previous fights against these goons, Don had come to the rescue with gadgets and just being what he was. As invisible as the Foot tech ninja were to Leo, Don had been to them, perhaps even more so. The turtle spirit, however, had no difficulty seeing the invisible ninjas. After taking a couple of hits, Leo had an idea. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and took a breath. The same openness that allowed him to see his brother even when Don was trying to hide could allow him to 'see' his invisible foes. When he opened his eyes again, the Foot Tech were as visible to Leo as Don was when not actively showing himself. The Foot Tech, confused by the fact that the turtle could obviously see them now, fell quickly to the unexpected attack. Their suits might be able to hide them from traditional sight, but their presence could not be so masked. Leo had learned long ago that a living presence was considerably easier to sense than a spirit was. Having made short work of the Foot tech ninja, Leo thought he might have the chance to escape and get back to April's place.

But the fight was far from over. The behemoth known as Hun was the next to show himself. Dropping a wall on the beast of a man, Leo figured that Hun was down for the count. He quickly departed the area and started making his way back to April's apartment... again That is until he realized that he was being followed... also again. Hun had gotten up, and the Foot ninja had arrived in greater numbers. The storm also seemed to have intensified, and it spurned Leo forward. He would be returning to his family. These Foot goons were not going to stop him, and neither was Hun. Suddenly everyone backed off... only to reveal a new adversary on a roof behind Leo. Adversaries who could vanish from one place and reappear in another at will. The whole group then bowed to another rooftop, and Leo suddenly had doubts about this fight. Standing there on the roof was a man who could not possibly be alive. The man Leo considered responsible for this whole mess. Someone who had fallen to Master Splinter's hand. Someone who had been crushed by a water tower not yet a month ago – the Shredder.

Leo had barely wrapped his mind around Shredder's presence when the newest ninja, the group he had never seen before suddenly appeared around him and attacked.


Leonardo's battered form crashed through the window of April's apartment, shocking the current occupants of her humble home. He only just prevented Raphael from racing out the door in search of those who had beaten him up.

"Raph, wait, The Shredder... He's... back."

The Foot followed almost as soon as the words had escaped Leo's lips, but Leo was no longer awake to help fight. Escape could only occur by means of the antique shop downstairs, and everyone did what they could to facilitate that escape. Splinter quickly assessed his sons though he already knew that only Michelangelo and Raphael were in good shape to fight. Leonardo could not stand on his own after the beating he had already taken, and Donatello had too recently returned from one of his disappearances to fight alongside his brothers in the traditional sense.

"Michelangelo!" Splinter shouted. "Help Miss O'Neil assist Leonardo down the stairs." He immediately jumped toward the nearest Foot ninja and quickly reduced his first opponent of many to unconsciousness. "Raphael, you are with me!" He said no more, but felt Raphael immediately jump into the fray covering his back.

Three more ninja fell to Master Splinter's walking stick, and Raphael had taken down several as well. A well placed snap kick to another ninja's knee caused the ninja to fall to the floor and a grin spread across Raphael's features.

"Michelangelo, I told you to help get your brother downstairs!" Splinter shouted. He was focused on the fight, and knew exactly where Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo and April were at all times, but Donatello's weaker presence had been lost in the scuffle. Of all of them, it was Donatello he had the least to worry about. What were they going to do to him exactly, kill him? No, there was nothing to worry about there other than where an ally was. A quick chop to the neck downed another ninja and Splinter noticed that Michelangelo was finally getting April and Leonardo out of the apartment. Raphael was no longer at Splinter's back, and he worried for his red-masked son. Spinning around, Splinter observed the business end of a naginata heading directly for Raphael's neck, but it never got there. The Foot ninja who had been wielding the weapon had seemingly inexplicably fallen to the floor, a brief moment later the ninja was unconscious. Donatello may have been a reluctant student of ninjitsu in life, but in death he was just as potent a fighter as any of his brothers even if he was not at full strength.

"Thanks, bro." Raphael responded to a being that no one else in the room could see. A faint whisper of ghosts and demons fluttered among the Foot as more of their companions fell to the unseen force. Most seeming to slip on rugs or fall to blows at their knees. Even after all this time, Splinter still had to concentrate to hear or see Donatello, but that had never been a problem for the turtle's brothers. They had always been able to see and hear the fourth turtle without trying. The fact that most of Donatello's attacks were short, quick movements of inanimate objects told Splinter that the spirit was indeed very low on energy.

Splinter called for a retreat to the shop below as more ninja crashed through the window.

Michelangelo had been the first to enter the antique shop below the apartment and had spotted the four ninja who were obviously not your typical Foot goon. He made a comment about their hats then darted back to the stairwell. In mild disbelief at Mikey's assessment of "seriously mean looking guys." Donatello traced Mikey's steps into the shop. He had been rather surprised when an ax was thrown at him, followed closely by a spear, immediately after he had repeated Mikey's comment about the hats. He managed to dodge the ax, but had been unable to move in time to avoid the spear. Luckily, a spear could no longer hurt him unless he wanted it to, and he didn't want it to. The weapon passed harmlessly through Don's head and embedded into the wall behind him. These people or beings could see him! He darted back into the stairwell.

"They can see me!" Don shouted, using precious energy to make sure his message got through to his family.

That statement told Splinter that they were up against powerful ninja. At the moment, Donatello wasn't strong enough to show himself to those who did not know him and truly believe. Only the most skilled of artists would be able to see an unknown spirit like Donatello.

"Take care, my sons. These are worthy adversaries. Be careful and fight together."

April hung back with Leonardo and tried to keep him out of the fight as best she could, despite his protests and pleas for her to leave them behind and get herself out. Leo even managed to drop a heavy shelf on an advancing ninja when it had come down to it. The action weakened him further and worry flashed across Splinter's features as April caught the battered turtle's collapsing form.

The next thing the turtles, Splinter and April knew, the opponents they had been fighting backed off. The Shredder kicked in the door. Casey Jones smashed his way into the fight around that time as well.

"He is back!" Raph whispered in disbelief. Leo had made a brief comment about it before they had been attacked by the Foot, but he had not truly believed it. It was then that they had retreated into a closet.

It got quiet, too quiet. When they tried to open the door they found that it had been locked from the outside. Nothing they could do from the interior of the small room could free them from the space. Mikey and Raph had tried to open the door without success, and even adding Casey's, Splinter's and April's strength to the mix had not resulted in any yielding of the door.

The scent of smoke and natural gas mingled in the closet and a way out had to be found immediately or the rest of the mutant family would be joining Donatello in the afterlife. No one was quite ready to allow that to happen. They obviously could not use the front entrance, but the back door or a window might be an escape option... if they could get out of this small space they had locked themselves into. The group was out of options.